Fire and Führer-y: Look Who's Back
The film is a German dramatic comedy that revolves around Hitler, who has been somehow transported from his bunker to modern day Berlin. With the help of an unemployed filmmaker, he quickly gains the media's attention and becomes an internet sensation. While most find him comedic, many agree with his rhetoric, which fuels his rise to fame.
Personally, I found the film to be witty and entertaining. Oliver Masucci's acting is, simply put, brilliant, shining even through the somewhat unremarkable cinematography and uneventful plot. One interesting thing to note is that fiction told in first person has a tendency to make the audience empathize with the main character. In this case, Look Who's Back runs the risk of humanizing Adolf Hitler. However, we can argue that the historical figure is merely a representation of the actual person and the film contextualizes this, avoiding said problematic situation by not going deep with the portrayal, thus leaving it open and ambiguous.
What I found most interesting was the film's humorous socio-political commentary that touches upon issues existing in Germany, such as the rise of neo-Nazis, the negative influences of immigrants, and the moral bankruptcy of mass media. The ending was especially clever, as it manages to subtly brings up two things: the inherent prejudices of people and the implication that if Hitler were to truly come back, he would fit right in.
Personally, I enjoyed it. The film's humor plays off Masucci's character well, and has great comedic content. Looking at the bigger picture, however, I would have to disagree with the implied message - I believe that the world is not where it was 70 years ago, in spite of recent world issues. I believe that as a whole, humanity has grown. This being said, the fact that I disagree with it does not take away its value. I give it a 9/10, and recommend the film, but also recommend you, as someone with critical thinking capabilities, to take its underlying message with a grain of salt.
- Jenny Kheng (19/08/18)