El ministro de propaganda

The film begins with the chilling quote, "It happened, therefore it can happen again," setting the tone for a haunting exploration of the horrors of World War II.

This film is a vital reminder of the atrocities, masterfully portraying how the Nazi regime manipulated the media to control the public's perception, with devastating consequences. The performances are gripping, offering a deeply unsettling portrayal of these infamous figures.

The final moments powerfully reinforce the film's message, leaving the audience in stunned silence well after the credits roll. It's an experience that stays with you long after leaving the theater.

I had the opportunity to sit down and watch "Führer und Verführer" (aka "Führer and Seducer"), and I needed no persuasion to watch this movie from writer and director Joachim Lang. If you have but an ounce of historical interest, then this is a movie that you would want to watch.

Sure, most of us are familiar with the basic events of World War II and the outcome of the war, but writer and director Joachim Lang offers sort of an insight to the machinery behind the man in charge. And it is a rather memorable and impactful insight. While the events and the characters portrayed in the are indeed atrocious and vile, then it is a crucial part of the history of the world, and thus is something we cannot and must not ignore. And on that account alone, "Führer und Verführer" is a movie that dictates it worthy of watching.

I have to say that I was genuinely entertained throughout the course of the 135 minutes that the movie ran for. Partially because of the storyline, but most certainly also because of some very imposing and impressive performances by the cast.

Leading actors Robert Stadlober and Fritz Karl, portraying Joseph Goebbels and Adolf Hitler respectively, might be portraying some of the more infamous persons in the history of the world, but they do so in very compelling and impressive ways, very realistic ways I would say. They really carry the movie quite well with their performances and I sincerely hope they get some acknowledgement for their performances in this movie. While Fritz Karl does portray Hitler disturbingly well, it just wasn't as impressive as Bruno Ganz did in the 2004 movie "Der Untergang". Regardless, the entire cast ensemble in this 2024 movie delivered great performances that most definitely brought not only the storyline to life on the screen, but most certainly also the characters they portrayed.

"Führer und Verführer" is a movie that might not be fitting for just about everyone in the audience, as it is an emotionally strong and moving movie, and the fact that writer and director Joachim Lang included actual footage from World War II makes it all the more hard-hitting, especially since there are some very hard to watch scenes included. But again, just as the movie closes off with saying, "it happened... and it can therefor happen again.", which resonates very true, despite the fact that it is a hauntingly scary sentence.

I was not prepared for the movie to be as gripping and compelling as it was, but that just made sitting through it all the more of a memorable experience. And thus, this is without a doubt a movie that I will recommend you to sit down and watch.

My rating of writer and director Joachim Lang's 2024 movie "Führer und Verführer" lands on a seven out of ten stars.

The production is a hybrid between documentary and a drama. Apart from minor errors the story appears faithful to what we know about the facts but fails to explain the motivations of the principle charecters.

Goebbels was a cynical intellectual, making jokes about Hitler in the early days. We get no explanation what turned him into one of Hitler's most faithful follower. Was it because he really believed in him or because he promised a key to power for both of them. May be nobody will ever know but if one decides to retell the story at least a hypothesis should be provided.

In spite of all the acting we are left with just another documentary.

This movie is one of a couple that should be seen in western society after learning the facts of WW2. It in my opinion gives an impression facts alone cannot. It is a light version of the impressions you get walking through the remains of concentrationcamps seeing pictures and video of what happened there.

It has the systematic side, it shows what propaganda can do and the horrors it hid and twisted. It has been good they showed these horrors. I would say they stayed on the safe side in matter of quantity of horrors shown and time inbetween as to not traumatize the viewers. But still hit them with the image of true evil.

Those movies I mentioned before should be this, Schindlers list and a movie about Aktion T4.

This movie is based on true facts, which are historically very relevant. Focus is thereby put on several important events that took place during WW2.

The acting was pretty good. I must say though that the actor that plays the role of Hitler, unfortunately does not come close to what we have seen in the movie "Der Untergang".

The props, costumes, buildings etc. All made it look like it is taking place during the 1930's and 40's. One can clearly see that much effort has been put in this.

Mistakes have also been made. Basic mistakes are made like using both the names Saint-Petersburg and Leningrad, whilst they only should have used the latter. Other mistakes are e.g. Adolf Hitler showing no signs of having Parkinson's Disease - i.e. A trembling hand - in the bunker scenes.

Overall, I found the movie a bit underwhelming. I personally think it may have to do with a too short of a time and a low budget for depicting so many impactful historical events. I therefore can only score this movie 6.3/10, resulting in a 6-star IMDb rating.

I however advise anyone with an interest in what happened during WW2 to watch this movie. Until there is a better alternative, it is still the best way to get an idea of the importance of Joseph Goebbels - and his use of propaganda - during WW2. I hope though that we will see in the future a mini-series, which gives the viewer a better insight on the use of propaganda during WW2. Because a movie of 2 hours seems to be really too short when you want to cover a topic like Goebbels during WW2.