Good

My, films about Nazi Germany are in fashion now, aren't they?

This one features Viggo Mortensen as John Halder, a German university professor
who inadvertently attracts the attention of the Nazis, who like his novel
concerning euthanasia. They co-opt him to write a paper on the subject, and
soon enough, bit by bit, small degree by small degree, they own him.

This is a somewhat bleaker film than the like of The Pianist or Schindler's
List (if that can be believed), in that while there isn't the appalling
depiction of the treatment of the Jews that those films had, neither is there
that one all important brave, compassionate soul who makes a difference, or
even *tries* to make a difference. Rather, this is the story of a man who may
mean no harm, but becomes complicit by his inaction, principally his inability
to save his Jewish friend, played by Jason Isaacs.

Ultimately, that's what's really unsettling about the film. We'd all like to
think we'd be an Oscar Schindler, even in some small way, in the same
situation. But in truth, it'd be all too easy to be like John Halder. Not
actively complicit in what was going on, but neither willing to take risks to
do what is right.

As a film, it's maybe not that great. There's only two real performances in it,
Mortensen and Isaacs, and Mortensen's a bit flat, sadly. Having said that, it's
well shot, the script's good, and Mortensen's nowhere near as rubbish as Tom
Cruise was in Valkyrie.