I
could be wrong, but I wonder if perhaps people in Germany
have a harder time dealing with the history and the memory
of World War II than citizens of other countries. After all,
it was Germany which started the war, with an insane leader
at the helm who presided over the great tragedy of human history.
Who would feel good about oneself in such a country? Yet there
are obviously some people who are trying to deal with the
facts of the war, and that includes German filmmakers. Films
like Das Boot and The Nasty Girl give varying perspectives
on Germany`s role in the war, and The Harmonists is another.
What
makes The Harmonists unique is that the film is not so much
about war, but about music. "The Comedic Harmonists" are a
musical singing group from the 1930`s, who enjoy massive popularity,
and are generally adored by many in the country. Much of the
film, in fact, does not deal much with the Nazis at all, but
with the dynamic which exists in a number of music group bios.
The beginning of the movie details the group`s formation and
rise to popularity. All the major events involve the men and
their music, from the difficulties in finding and agreeing
on a proper style and presentation, to the clever ways in
which they are able to convince concert halls and the like
to hire them for performances. And as with other stories involving
groups of like-minded people, the singing group suffers from
a number of internal problems which must be resolved. Actually,
the true sufferers are Harry and Bob, the two major forces
behind the group, who now fight over seemingly small points
as Harry`s tendency to, in Bob`s opinion, upstage the rest
of the group with his goofiness during performances (odd;
they are called the Comedic Harmonists.). Also, the two fight
over the love of a woman, who herself is divided between the
affections of these men.
It
is not until later when the elements of warfare and Nazi Germany
make themselves a prominent force in the rest of the story.
The Nazis slowly insinuate themselves into society, so slowly
that many people seem to think of them as nuisances rather
than a genuinely dangerous threat. Assumptions that reason
will soon prevail are dashed, however, when Hitler takes power,
and Jews, especially, feel the force of hatred which was to
grow until it reached horrific proportions. Like Life Is Beautiful,
this movie starts out like any other normal human story, then
has the rug pulled out from under it by the Nazi threat. This
may be the key to these film`s importance - underneath the
massive war machine lay people who tried to live out their
normal lives. But these lives are changed - and destroyed
- forever, because of political and ideological aspirations
beyond the citizens control. The lesson learned in the case
of this film is that not even music which makes many people
happy could save Germany from itself. The band itself cannot
survive the way it is because of the Jewish factor - three
of the six members are Jews, and they perform songs written
by Jewish composers. Yet what is interesting is that the Nazis
do not destroy the group outright, but make what the Nazis
believe are reasonable compromises - basically, the group,
for now, can be tolerable, as long as the Jewish numbers are
scrapped. What we see, in fact, is that some Nazis were just
like everyone else in that the group does hold a place in
their hearts, and there is a strange scene when a high-ranking
Nazi, after having just told the Jewish Harry and the Gentile
Bob to scrap the Jewish numbers or be punished, asks the two
for autographs. As with other people in Germany, Harry and
the other Jews wish to be somewhere else, and they might get
that chance when they are invited to perform for the U.S.
Navy. Yet problems arise when Bob, in particular, sees this
desire to remain in the States as a sort of disloyalty for
Germany.
This
was a fine movie, another example of the sorts of film making
to be found in Germany. I found it neat, after having seen
the very hip production of Run Lola Run, to see something
completely unlike the sleek modern look of that film. The
Harmonists is a traditional period piece, with a good story
and a sense of history. The musical history is interesting;
while this easy listening melody is not exactly my kind of
music, it was the popular music of its day, and it is fascinating
to see what music stars of a bygone era were like. Also, a
movie like this is another reminder of the destruction brought
among ordinary people when a tyrant is allowed to control
their country.
David
Macdonald
David
Macdonald's Movie Reviews
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