I thought the characters were drawn rather brilliantly. I loved that Wiesler, for example, turns out to be more than the stereotypical robotic Party tool that he at first seems.
I also loved that you were never exactly sure what any given character was going to do at any moment. In the New York Times review, the writer said the movie reminds us that even in an oppressive state, humans are still burdened with free will. The characters again and again faced monumental decisions, and I was never positive about which way they were going to go. The characters felt very real and human to me, and I cared very much about each of them.
5 comments:
Yes, it was extremely engrossing.
I did want to see the Hempf guy get tarred and feathered, but it's probably more realistic that he got off Scott free, that the innocent folk in Germany now live side by side with the bastards who oppressed them — neighbors, friends, colleagues — the spying apparatus was enormous.
Yes, Wiesler was a magnificent role. He seemed like a long shot to become a sympathetic character, and the actor managed it. It added a lot to the suspense in that every strike against Dreyman could unravel the subterfuge back to Wiesler. I was surprised a demotion was the extent of consequences for him. Maybe that longtime friendship with Grubitz saved his hide.
Grubitz was a piece of work, too. At times he was the perfect stereotype of a bureacrat, advancing through brown-nosing rather than intelligence. Then there was his cat-and-mouse game in the cafeteria with the young government 2nd Lt. (Did you notice the latter ended up steaming envelopes with Wiesler?) Yet he seemed oblivious to the implications of his orders; he went about his job like an aspiring middle manager for a private corporation.
Free will is probably the most common and most important theme in theater and film. The weight of it in this film is staggering.
Having characters make lots of decisions is probably the best way to make them multi-faceted. This film achieved a high level of complexity and coherence in most of the characters. The believability factor was good enough that seeming contradictions were easy to see as complexities rather than mistakes.
The artistic restraint shown by having Hempf get off scot-free rather than giving in to the audience's desire to see harm come to him is impressive.
I didn't notice that the kid was steaming envelopes! That's awesome. Thanks for pointing that out.
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