"Deutschstunde" or "The German Lesson" is a German German-language movie from 2019, so a really new release from this year and here we have the newest collaboration by Germany's right now most famous filmmaking duo, director Christian Schwochow and writer Heike Schwochow. They are also sort of the only one I can think of right now. They have worked on several films together in the past and also worked with other filmmakers/writers before, but here they are united again. It is a really long film at easily over two hours, but it never really drags, if at all slightly at the ending. But the flaws there are really only minor compared to everything that was done right before that. First of all, it also needs to be said that this film is based on a novel by Siegfried Lenz, a German writer that everybody here in Germany knows by name really at least if they haven't read something from him, certainly one of the most impactful authors of his time. He only died a little over five years ago and that does surprise me as I thought he was older. Anyway, his story here is set in the 1940s when it can basically be seen already that Germany is losing World War II. And while there are many references about the political climate at that point, it is still much more of a character study than a historical movie really. The two grown-up lead actors are played by Ulrich Noethen and Tobias Moretti. Well, of course you always get quality with this duo, no surprise here and they deliver again. I think overall probably Noethen had the more memorable performance, but at its peak Moretti was better. With that, I mean the scene when we see Moretti say bye to his wife. I still find it awesome to see what a great career Moretti has been enoying for years now winning awards left and right and it certainly wasn't totally to be expected like this when he started on Kommissar Rex, a show that had some nice heart, but not exactly the greatest writing. Same is of course true for Karl Markovics who stems from the same show.
Anyway, as for this film here, we have a Nazi (Noethen) who is told to make sure that a renowned painter (Moretti) will not create any new pieces because his approach is categorized as "entartete Kunst" as we say here. It is such a specific term that I don't like translating it, but you could say "degenerate art" is what the Nazis considered it, not what it was. At the same time, we learn a lot about these two and their family backgrounds. What makes things more complicated is that they were friends before that and there is even a brief mention (actually two if you include the painting at the end) of Moretti's character saving the other's life at one point. This is also why the Nazi will not rat on his (former) friend as he says himself when he finds out that he painted again. Afterwards, he does not, but for example shows the Nazi's son how to paint and causes further trouble by that. I would like to mention a few specific scenes now. One would be the comparison between the scene when they sing together and the scene at the end when they mourn another character. During the first, the Nazi is still present and part of the group, during the second, he is the one who is merely an intruder and the moment he shouts about how they have to go to the street and then fires a few shots into the air makes obvious how hopeless and alone he was at that point, even when it comes to his family. Clearly his actions stand as a symbol for the failing country of Nazi Germany at that point. It wasn't always like that though. early on, there was still the possibility of Noethen turning out as a good guy because he did not rat on his friend as I said earlier. But the longer the film goes, the more he turns into a main antagonist who is really only evil. When he hurts his youngest son's hand on the hot cooking plate, it is just as obvious as for example the scene when he tells the Nazis that his oldest son is with them and basically signs his death sentence this way. Also at the end, it shows he has not changed one bit, even if the days of Nazi Germany are over, there is not one bit of remorse in him. Noethen reminded me a bit of Klaußner in "Das weiße Band" at times in terms of his approach to the character and his ruthlessness. The film is in general fairly sobering, almost depressing, also like Das weiße Band, with color of course and not only because Dragus is in here. Every time, there was a slight bit of hope and positivity, something bad happens right after, for example the scene when we see Dragus' character swinging high up in the air and briefly afterward, there is the blood on the boy's hand, maybe an indicator to what happens with his hand later on. Or when they are singing and moments later the mail man arrives and tells brings the bad news that all the man's paintings will be confiscated. Or also in the latter parts of the film, when the painter is released that his wife dies not much later.
As for Noethen, you could write a lot more about his character. One thing that is crucial in here is also his ego. This becomes obvious on several occasions. When his eldest son turns out to be a deserter, he talks about what people think about him, same when we find out about his daughter posing nude as a model and of course also during the scene that is the final blow to his relationship with the painter when he gets humiliated with the empty sheets of paper and the one that is not empty because as we find out eventually, his youngest son painted it, which makes him really really angry. In general, there are many moments in this film when characters have to leave and we cannot be sure if they ever return or recover. Sometimes they do (the main characters), at other times not (Wokalek, Hofmann). As for the latter two, I also want to say a few words. Wokalek I always like to see and I am glad she has been in more films again in recent years. She is really always good and her portrayal here deserves a German Film Award nomination in the supporting category. As for Hofmann, I don't like him. He was not really as bad as he is in other films this time, but this is mostly because he has hardly anything to work with. Like it seems with all he has played in movies in the last five years, his range is almost completely restricted to suffering in front of the camera. Total type-cast. This film here is really defining for his career. He enters the film with a gunshot wound he brought upon himself and the rest is crying and whining basically. Oh yeah, he also threatens his younger brother on one occasion. His role could have been played by anybody really. As for other symbolic aspects from this movie pay attention to the frequent depictions of dead animals in the first half. Skeletons basically. There is a clean connection between them and the death of art the moment that Moretti's character is not allowed to paint anymore. Overall, it is a good film, maybe not good enough for a rewatch, but the actors really hold it all together and the script isn't bad either. I have not read Lenz' book, so I cannot comment on parallels and differences really, but the way the Schwochows adapted it here, it works well overall. Then again, the subject is one I am interested in anyway, so this surely helps, even if this is clearly not a war film, not a Nazi film, not a Holocaust film etc. Like I said, the focus is on the characters and the consequences that happen to them from what is decided in the frequently mentioned "capital" that seems so far away. One thing I did not like too much was the framework really with the boy's struggling with authority and even if it is how he tells the story of what happened when he was young I could have done without that altogether. Also the part at the end about him indeed stealing the paintings I would not have missed if they hadn't included it. I can see why they did because it is fairly crucial character-wise, but I did not really dig it. Maybe just me though. overall, this one gets a thumbs-down from me and this was one of the contenders for Germany's Oscar submission this year. it did come short and that is alright, even if I kinda doubt the one they went for, a much more modern film, is really better. Anyway, we shall talk about that one one another occasion. until then, go watch "Deutschstunde". Recommended.
