Nuremberg, the movie: Get beat over the head with YOUR complicity with fascism.

[NNadir]

Yesterday, I went, by myself, to see the movie Nuremberg starring Russell Crowe as Herman Goering. (My wife is not interested in this kind of movie, but she suggested I go myself.)

The movie covers the psychiatric evaluation of the Nazi war criminals leading up to the Nuremberg trials of the surviving Nazis after the 2nd World War, noting that the precedent - which I think was appropriate - was somewhat contrived in a legal sense. It is basically a fictionalized true story involving the real life psychiatrist Douglas Kelly who evaluated all of the Nuremberg defendants to evaluate their sanity to assure competency to stand trial.

(None of the defendants was able to plead insanity in the real event; none tried.)

As a movie, it was just OK, with a more than a little wooden script, and so so acting.

The history was a little weak, since there was no mention of the Soviet presence at the trial, nor, really, the French (who were in an ambiguous position.) It's portrayed as an almost wholly American affair, with a little bit of Brit thrown in as a sop.

There was actually a zero probability of people like Goering getting off the hook, although certainly there were dubious cases where the death penalty was not enacted and guilty parties ended up getting out of prison during the cold war, notably the case with Doenitz and Speer. (Speer actually became rather famous post war, although his guilt in the genocide was in fact enormous.)

The only thing that was notable was the movies ending, wherein the actor playing Dr. Kelley who has slipped into alcoholism, wherein he is depicted on a radio show, telling the unbelieving hosts of the show that all human beings, including Americans, have the capability of becoming Nazis.

He is told, before being asked to leave the show, that criticizing his country is not a good idea, the criticism that a drunken Kelley makes while being interviewed that Americans can slip into similar behavior as was portrayed by the Nazis, right down to genocide.

I get the point; really I do. It was a little heavy handed, hammered in fact, but I get the point.

I can't say I recommend the movie, but I get the point.

[ret5hd]

1. my small addition to your point:

at the first No Kings rally, i went to our states capital to protest.

one young man had his sign:

“You’re either ANTIFAscist
OR
FASCIST
There is no secret third thing”

there is no middle ground. there is no minding your own business. there is no keeping your head down. you either give your effort/time to stopping this OR you are a fascist.

[KT2000]

2. Young people do not know

this history, or it could be another controversy to them. I doubt many will go see it, but the story must be kept alive because they have to learn this is happening now.
I am steeped in this history but the videos of the camps, people, and the bulldozers shoving the bodies did me in. No controversy there.

People then were naïve about what people are capable of - the evil ones were the others. Now, the cruel sociopaths constitute half of our elected politicians, Executive appointments, and over half of the Supreme Court justices. We have friends and neighbors loudly voicing their hate and racism.

The movie was based on the book about Dr. Kelley so he is standing in for us and our painful jolt from complacency. It would have been easier for subsequent generations to learn from history through education and movies like this.

IMHO Russel Crowe was outstanding

[NNadir]

4. Real holocaust films are shown in the film, and they are powerful in the otherwise less than powerful film.

I certainly did weep to see them; I always have and still do when they're shown.

Russell Crowe is a great actor of course, has many of his efforts are shown, but I don't really think he captured Goering all that well in this case. That's just my opinion.

[oasis]

3. Thanks for your review. I was going to theater,

but now I’ll wait for Netflix.