17/July/2022. Watched.
My rating: 9/10.
Every summer I tend to watch a
lot of war movies; the hot weather does incite the urge to return to
the battlefields where the enemy is kill-able, unlike the heat wave. In
2020 I watched Schindler's List, Full Metal Jacket, Apocalypse Now etc.
Band of Brothers in '21. The raucous atmosphere that war films create
comforts me somehow. Call of Duty 2 was, I think, my proper introduction
to World War 2. It was just amazing. It still is, to think that it
actually happened. And watching something in this genre always brings
back the memories of that game. "MG-42 BEHIND THOSE SANDBAGS!".
I've
always been fascinated with Nazis. The hoards upon hoards of nameless
Germans that come in these games and movies in the form of "The Enemy"
instilled a strong sense of curiosity in me. Why are they the bad guys?
How can such a large population become a puppet for an extremist? These
were some of the questions which popped into my young brain as a child.
Among
my favorite films of all time is Inglorious Basterds (2009) in which
the Nazi is shown as a weasel, a backstabber, a schemer and a beast.
But, in War Generation, the Nazi is shown as a victim. At least some
Nazis, the average soldier. Even it's original title, "Unsere Mutter,
Unsere Vater" (Our Mothers, Our Fathers) humanizes the supporters of
NSDAP. Hitler, after all, like any other politician, was elected.
Consisting
of only 3 episodes, an hour and a half each, it tells the story of 5
friends. A Lieutenant and his younger brother who is also conscripted in
the war even though he has no interest in it for he is a reader and an
intellectual. The other three being a singer, a nurse and a jew. War
changes them. Brings out the worst.
Now, the way its filmed is
nothing revolutionary. As you'd imagine, it takes inspiration from
Saving Private Ryan (1998) & Band of Brothers (2001). But the fact
that it tells the story of the German side, in this very American manner
of filmmaking, it helps you empathize with them that much more. And I
love it for it.
Everyone of the five friends is screwed by their
country in one or another. The soldiers are shell-shocked, the singer
gets abused and gets thrown in prison, the nurse witnesses the
horrendous aftermath of battles and the jew, well, y'know... Everyone is
humanized. The nurse, who was the sweetest person in the beginning,
says some racist stuff and commits a sin which she later regrets. But
you understand them. You feel sorry for them. Its a tragedy that they
were indoctrinated with such hatred. After all, they are your mothers
and fathers.
Even though melodrama is found here in spades, it
works. It has a strong sense of earnestness to it. It did made me well
up. The cast here is terrific. The ones who caught my attention the most
were Miriam Stein (Charlotte the nurse) and Ludwig Trepte (the jew).
Sylvester Groth, who played Joseph Goebbels in Inglorious Basterds also
showed up as a stone cold SS officer. A couple of days ago, I randomly
started watching a German series, Deutschland '83, and I was so happy to
see that Groth and Trepte had roles in that show. I just might continue
watching it.
The show boasts of some great set pieces and
action sequences. There's a scene where partisans hide and wait to
ambush a train going to a death camp. In another, civilians are forced
to walk through a mine field to clear the way for the German soldier.
Another had the trenches and the camp bombed because one of the main
characters kept smoking even after noticing an enemy aircraft. But the
most impressive thing for me was it's editing and how it maintained a
rapid pace and intensity throughout its four and a half hour runtime.
Unsere
Mutter, Unsere Vater is an essential watch if you're interested in the
genre. My neck and my back hurts, I shouldn't type on the bed anymore.
Oh well...
