Movies + TV
Harlan - In the Shadow of Jew Suess
Wednesday, March 3, 2010 - Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The infamous JUD SÜSS (1940), directed by Veit Harlan, and produced under Joseph Goebbels’s Ministry of Propaganda, was the Nazis’ most vicious anti-Semitic film. A drama set in 18th century Germany, it purports to tell the true story of a Jew who dresses incognito (as a Christian), corrupts a local Duke, restructures the government to bleed the people through punitive taxes, and forces himself upon a beautiful, married Christian woman (played by Kristina Söderbaum, Harlan’s third wife).
At the war’s end, the filmmaker was prosecuted for crimes against humanity, but acquitted. Today, his children and grandchildren consider his legacy and the hard questions it continues to pose. Some have changed their name and left Germany. Others claim he was forced to direct the film and deride it as loathsome, crudely-made propaganda.
HARLAN is a fascinating exploration into the murky waters of a family’s unique, disturbing relationship to one of history’s worst crimes.
Germany, 2009, 99 Min, in German, French & Italian with English subtitles
“Felix Moeller’s terrific docu cleverly shifts the discourse (on Harlan) and concentrates more on the director’s family, subtly exploring the questions of guilt and filial devotion while keeping the man’s monstrous legacy front and center.”
– Jay Weissberg, Variety
Showtimes: 1:00, 3:10, 6:00, 8:00, 10:00
