Lore (2012)

Sympathy for the Nazis?

At the end of World War II, a family of Nazi supporters finds themselves on the wrong side of power.  Lore, the oldest child, finds herself an outcast, trying to care for her siblings while also being on the run.  It is commonly known that the whole world has a severe disdain for Nazis, especially for Hitler.  As a result, there have been loads of films which show how foul the Nazis were.  In contrast this powerful film portrays the events from the perspective of loyal Nazis.  Lore helps us to remember that those who supported Hitler were people as well, regular people us, misguided though they may have been. 

Lore gets 4 out of 5 Poblanos!

Director: Cate Shortland
Writer: Cate Shortland
Starring: Saskia Rosendahl, Kai-Peter Malina, Nele Trebs
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Metacritic: 76 out of 100

Die Welle (The Wave) 2008

Rainer is the cool teacher - he wears t-shirts and jeans to school, listens to rock music, and lets his students address him by his first name. When given the task of teaching a week long class on Autocracy, Rainer becomes Herr Wenger and teaches his class about authority, discipline, group harmony, and unity. Based in part on an experiment by a California high school teacher, Die Welle reveals how easily people can be motivated and manipulated, especially young people. Parts of the film seem implausible. For example, could high school kids really get this engrossed in something in such a short amount of time? Also, are high schoolers really this impressionable? With a strong script, engaging subject, and great young actors. They make the film feel more like a documentary with genuine high schoolers rather than a scripted film.

Die Welle made me a believer with 3 out of 5 Poblanos!

Director: Dennis Gansel
Writer: Dennis Gansel, Peter Thorwarth
Starring: Jürgen Vogel, Frederick Lau and Max Riemelt
Rotten Tomatoes: 65%
Metacritic: Not reviewed