Text/Ghost Feet Seven
"Hitler is Back" looks like a comedy, both from its title and its setting. The story is open-mindedly set that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler did not commit suicide on the eve of the end of the war, but appeared in contemporary Germany through time. Seventy years later, although the world today is still not harmonious and peaceful, it is no longer the same as the era when Hitler set off a frenzy. After clearing up the various effects of the war, it became a completely different look from the 1930s. The head of state, who once dominated Europe, came to modern times, and he was undoubtedly faced with "unbelievable" facts: the feared SS army has long since become a historical term, Poland is still an independent country, and Germany is still an independent country. The head of state is actually a woman with loose facial skin. At the beginning of the film, people will think that this is a German version of "Time and Space", which is nothing more than a joke about Hitler's various jokes in modern society, and by the way, satirize this once-mighty "leader".
But soon, the film deviates from the normal "funny" route. Fabian, a down-and-out TV reporter, faced a crisis in his career, and stumbled upon Hitler, who made him feel that he regarded the "actor who looked and sounded like Hitler" as his life-saving straw, and decided to use him for himself. The business started the second spring. So he took Hitler with him and started his journey to make him a star. Unlike what we imagined, Hitler did not become a devil in the eyes of contemporary Germans, but became a popular figure, and many people even took pictures with him in the square - in this era of entertainment, Hitler has obviously become a popular figure. A symbol has become a part of popular entertainment. His words, his speeches, and his views have long been less convincing and shocking than he was at the party congress. We have seen Hitler expressing his views impassionedly on different occasions again and again, and then in exchange for the audience's hard to hide smiles. Here, the film seems to turn the critics unmistakably to fascism itself, which has long been sent to the grave. The times have already moved forward for nearly a century. After we have experienced the trauma of war, even if we face the same Inciting speech may not be easily followed blindly. What's more, Germany, which is deeply influenced by fascism, is more sensitive to the rise of fascist forces than other countries. Even if Hitler himself was resurrected back then, the days when people were as easily incited as they were in those days may not be repeated.
The resurrected Hitler quickly became a popular TV comedy star under Fabian's arrangement, and even if the "resurrection of Germany" is difficult to meet in the current era, it has not changed him at all. The nature of ambition. He appeared in various TV programs, and made various criticisms of the current bad reality in Germany. From vulgar TV programs, to social problems in Germany, to the government's major policies, Hitler has become the new generation of German media. " known". Interestingly, these "insights" of Hitler were exchanged for more unbridled laughter and more engaged entertainment atmosphere from the audience. The film turns the focus to a contemporary society that entertains to death, and indeed, Hitler is laughable, and when he uses his radical political views to look at our social reality, this contrast makes us all find a good laugh. However, just as the madness of the madman in "Diary of a Madman" is the sad part of the world, behind Hitler's ridiculous words and deeds, the film calmly shows the horror of our present age of consumption, which is so numb, So slow, so indulgent, even when Hitler stood in front of the people again and made a speech through the mass media, we regarded it as an after-dinner entertainment show.
Yes, the Nazis have become a thing of the past, and the resurrected Hitler has become a clown in our eyes. However, is our society really better? This vague question of the film is finally answered at the end. Hitler's fame as a TV star grew, not only in appearances on various occasions, but even as a movie actor. But Fabian, who discovered him at the beginning, finally found that the person in front of him was not a "Hitler imitator", but Hitler himself. The young reporter who devoted his life to mass media finally realized what kind of monster he had unleashed. Just like last year's "Nightcrawler", which sent chills down the spine, under the pursuit of the highest ratings and attention, the contemporary entertainment industry does not hesitate to hype various topics to attract attention. When Fabien finally realized this danger, he was powerless, and Hitler became a star and the object of TV stations. Hitler, who appeared on the set with high spirits, was not only a well-deserved big name, but also surrounded by a group of burly staff members-just like the "Führer" style of the year. The final destination of the film makes people suddenly and completely wake up: even if we eliminate the Nazis, we have not eliminated the possibility of repeating the fanaticism of the past; Hitler's war has been extinguished, but the new Hitler will strangle our minds with more cruel weapons And personality - the people who were easily brainwashed in the age of consumption may not be too far from the Nazis who were incited to the swastika. It is even more ironic that at the beginning of the film, Hitler, who had just arrived in modern society, complained that people would no longer raise their hands when they saw him, and at the end of the film, Hitler was driving through the street in a sports car, while pedestrians did not. They took the initiative to make that Nazi military salute to him.
"Hitler is Back" obviously means something. While criticizing the absurd entertainment logic of the mass media, the director is warning us that the resurrection of extremist forces may not be just a fantasy of science fiction films. And this time-travel movie with its name and setting is like a comedy. If you think about it for yourself, it may be more like a horror movie.
Originally published in "Film World" 2016-05
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