Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Süss

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06/09/2011 It's certainly worth thinking about the values officially promoted by Nazi Germany. But who cares about the motivations or self-justifications (in short, the subjectivity) of a petty bourgeois careerist film-maker (in Nazi Germany or elsewhere), or the opinions of his surviving family members (naturally, the anti-Nazi or even perhaps communist son being the most intellectually and morally advanced)? Most of all (in the context of this film), consider the continuities between Nazi Germany and capitalist NATO-member (West) Germany. See more 05/24/2011 Like so many docs these days, this one can be quite repetitive at times, but it is fascinating to see how the actions of on person can have effects seen 3 or 4 generations out. See more 03/28/2011 A great docu even though I'd liked to have heard more from the man himself. I was very clever edited to bring the message across about the impact the film had on them and their children and grandchildren. See more 12/24/2010 History is always complicated - and painful. See more 12/19/2010 It is interesting to see how a family struggles in so many ways to deal with the inheritance of guilt that reaches back 70 years. It is a thought provoking film in that explores the issue of propaganda movies, their impact on societies and the role the "artist" assumes in his/her time. It's a challenging subject for sure, hence for the historically interested this is a good watch. (Netflix HD stream) See more 05/02/2010 A thought-provoking documentary that wrestles with the nature of guilt and penance generations after the fact. The movie illustrates the different ways in which the progeny of German filmmaker Veit Harlan have dealt with the legacy of his propaganda films for the Nazis, in particular the infamous Jew Süss. The film shows how different members of the family view Harlan and his wife's culpability in what they did. The movie offers some snippets of the movie and covers some of the director's post-war career. The sequences visually mirror many from Frankenstein of all things, right down to the angry villagers carrying torches and a drowned victim. His story in itself would have been interesting, but the fact that Harlan's eldest son became a Nazi hunter of sorts adds another fascinating layer to this story. The connections to Stanley Kubrick (he married Harlan's niece and even had an opportunity to meet him) are an interesting footnote as well. My personal take is that I side with Thomas Harlan's assessments of his father; its hard to forgive when you compare his story with that of say, Fritz Lang who made the decision to leave Germany. See more Read all reviews

Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Süss

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