User reviews

At points this film feels almost comic, but never loses its focus on the important topic of Germans either coming to grips with the past or covering it up. Some modernist filming techniques seem to remind the viewer that the film is very much set in the time of its production (1990, though the story begins in the 1970s) rather than in the distant, black-and-white days of the past that is its most important subject. It's like Verhoeven is saying "the cover-up is NOW."

It is my understanding that the story is based on the experiences of an actual German woman. That being the case, Verhoeven could have written a serious biographical film about this woman's experiences as she struggled to investigate the truth of her town's activities during the Nazi regime. This was the method used in his portrayal of the Scholl siblings in Die Weisse Rose. But I can see reasons for his different approach with this film. The topic of Die Weisse Rose is so heavy for obvious reasons, and there is very little modern controversy over considering them heroes. But as the topic of Das schreckliche Maedchen remains controversial and, for many Germans, difficult to discuss, the somewhat light-hearted approach that Verhoeven takes may open doors for more viewers and more discussion. And again I repeat that the approach does not diminish the topic's importance. He strikes a nice balance.

On another note, this film is also a very good portrayal about a modern woman's struggle to be independent in her work while having a large family. I'm not surprised to see that the positive voting here at IMDB is most prevalent among women in their twenties and thirties.

It may sound in outline like a bad joke, but this daring comedy about a young German girl's frustrated attempt to uncover the Nazi past is no laughing matter. The film has a lot of the same, sassy energy as its heroine, who as a schoolgirl began a lifelong investigative crusade to unearth the Nazi skeletons in the closet of her Bavarian hometown, discovering firsthand the hypocrisy and complacency of her friends and neighbors (and, by extension, of the entire German nation). The story is drawn from actual events, but the heavy stylization of the film takes (deliberately) some of the sting from the facts, by lending them an almost playful air of unreality sometimes unsuited to the subject. The approach takes a little getting used to, but it makes sense: in a country afflicted with retroactive amnesia, history itself can sometimes seem equally unreal. Altogether it's a fresh look at otherwise familiar material, with a sudden, unresolved ending offering plenty of food for thought.

A local girl decides to venture on a project dealing with the nasty history of her home town. This puts a few noses out of place and her on the bad books. The use of rear projection sets and other creative devices work in telling a political story in a cheeky manner.

The film is about a young woman in a small conservative community in southern Germany who decides to do some research into life during World War 2, and discovers that the version of events she has been brought up to believe is not backed up by the facts. A witty and biting satire on bourgeois hypocrisy and people's refusal (or unwillingness) to remember unpleasantness. To its credit the film is not didactic or one-sided and manages to make its point in a highly watchable but thought-provoking manner.

Using Brecht's idea of Epic Theatre, Michael Verhoeven creates a stage upon which audiences can learn from the past, and critique such instances from World War Two and Nazi Germany through the main character Sonja's struggles.

Brecht wanted Epic Theatre to use history and let audiences apply it to the present. This type of theatre makes you aware that you are watching something staged, so that you analyze the situation rather then feeling the same emotions of the characters. Verhoeven does this very nicely using a few alienation effects (also know as vefremdungs effekt). One scene taking the walls down of Sonja's living room and having it float through town while people anonymously call and threaten her family. Here the idea of Foucault's panoptican (an instrument that can see everything) comes into play as well. Sonya has no anonymity from the public, which is made up of the church, the government, the media, and the fifth establishment (the elder generation that serve as a link from the past to the present), yet she cannot identify any of them specifically. Later on again in a different sequence, Verhoeven brings back the walls. It is here that Sonja learns some names she can use to defend herself, and the walls of defense are back. Bringing back the walls also helps alarm the audience, just in case they were becoming too comfortable without them.

Another part of the film is Sonja's family. In many scenes the children are seen crying and the father, Martin, tending to them and getting rather flustered. At one point he yells at Sonja telling her how her children would like their mother. Later on at the end of the film we learn that he has left her. Verhoeven plays on Sonja's obsession for finding the truth as a distraction from her family, yet there are parts where she still says she needs to stop, for the safety of her family because of threats. I think the scenes of neglecting the family are overdone to not show the point that Sonja is a bad mother, but that she wants her children to grow up and learn to love their Heimat (homeland), which during WWII was given a negative political term. She wants to make things better for her children so they don't grow up learning all of the corrupt things the her town has been covering up.

The Nasty Girl is a clever and great cinematic film that makes you think, rather then feel. As the viewer you walk away learning something.

I bought The Nasty Girl blind, not knowing either the film, nor director. It was that it had been Oscar nominated and the title and cover suggested something juicy and punky, that the Nasty Girl was indeed, far from being a Saint.

But she is, of sorts. This, my second viewing allowed me to see deeper into the film's structure and message. Lena Stolze, as Sonja, the girl, then a woman who starts out thinking up a subject for her school essay assignment. Teachers always like to patronise their pupils when they show enthusiasm and initiative and so, her project is blessed and praised. At first.

As her task becomes a full-time passion and as she uncovers possible cover ups as to who in the town were Nazis and how far their crimes went, those doors to her, previously so open, are now closed. Director Michael Verhoeven (whose name sounds Dutch but he was born in Berlin) employs a necessary offbeat and humorous approach, sometimes stylised sets, with back-projected interiors pasted on. There's an air of flippancy throughout and the briskness of the narrative means that we don't ponder too much on a single point before moving on.

The slamming doors become sticks of dynamite and death-threats, which we cannot take that seriously due to semi-comic take on it all. Court cases come up, are won, lost and won again. Inhabitant's opinions change after an accident involving the judge picking pears causes the final case to collapse.

You, like me, may find that there are unanswered questions and ultimately, whilst the journey was fun for most of its time, what really was the point? What did she prove, apart from the fact that she was able to change opinion.

Anyway, a nice little film, not too long and a bit different and also, really quite German.

The thrust of the movie, as I saw it, was the propensity of a society, any society, to conveniently 'forget' the details of its involvement with nefarious deeds carried out in its name. Much as the vast majority of American westerns tend to gloss over the true level of barbarism we so-called civilized members of society visited upon the 'heathen' Indians, the German town in question conveniently 'forgot' its level of involvement with the atrocities of the Nazi regime. Mädchen's true 'sin' was of revisiting the Nazi era and detailing the involvement of many of the town's leading lights with that regime and its atrocities.

In toto, this film asks disturbing questions about society (any society) and its willingness to justify or simply forget 'inconvenient' truths and realities.

A young German woman investigates her town's involvement during the Third Reich. The presentation is quirky, with Stolze at times stepping out of character to directly address the audience. There's also the occasional use of theatrical backgrounds, as well as having the living room furniture seemingly floating in the streets. It's clever and amusing, but seems out of place with the theme of the movie. After the light-hearted start, things turn serious as Stolze goes about trying to dig up information on her town's history. Not only is the transition jarring, but the film bogs down. Stolze gives a lively performance, convincingly aging from adolescence to adulthood.

Michael Verhoeven has constructed a masterpiece in this glorious depiction of denial in a small German town. Through a unique style, Verhoeven takes a sensitive topic, the feelings of Germans as to their participation in WWII, and adds a glorious ironic humor to the story.

Lena Stoltz is glorious as Sonja, retaining her youthful charm and appeal throughout the film, from infancy to adulthood. Her apparent youthful innocence is what gives the movie much of its staying power in the minds of its viewers.

This movie is comedy, tragedy, documentary, and social commentary rolled into one glorious package.

Some of this film seemed a little weird, like what would be in a Monty Python film, but I was quite absorbed with it. If you are interested in German reactions to the war and their own involvement and denials, you may like this. The main actress is attractive and interesting in her own right. It makes you wonder what the real story was like.

You won't like this if you like "straight" documentary-type films on this subject. It sort of reminds me of the tone used in the horrific Russian antiwar film, "Come and See." Although the humor is often black, it keeps your attention.

If you are expecting porn, you will be disappointed! I was a little embarrassed to rent this video because of its English title. It does have some light sex talk and a brief nude swimming scene, but it's not bad that way.

If you are Catholic you may be offended by the light mocking of the school system, but, then again, maybe not! Some of the characters are quite funny, but other parts are quite serious, befitting the subject.

You can tell the director can be quite quirky! I would recommend this to most mature viewers, interested in German war guilt, etc.

Sonja (Lena Stolze) seems like any ordinary person. That is, until she has to research her town's history for a project. In the process, she discovers that her town was heavily involved in the Third Reich. Then, everyone in town not only turns against her, but tries in every possible way to silence her.

Much like another West German film ("The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum"), "The Nasty Girl" shows a woman used as a scapegoat for something that was society's fault (it makes sense for German movies to deal with that; it's exactly what the Third Reich was all about). Another one of Germany's solid masterpieces.

Watching this movie, I couldn't help but wonder what sorts of secrets any place, anywhere on Earth, carries.

Me and my homies watched this movie together, since we are all in Deutsch class. The only reason this scheisse was funny was because of how 'schrecklich' it was. The jokes were never funny, especially how the money looked like a vagina if folded correctly, that was just wrong. Also at some points when they were in their living room, it showed a street background that was moving, so it looked like they were sitting on a couch that was on the back of a flatbed! That was easily the funniest part of this horrible movie. 3/10

I really liked this movie a lot. Apart from a very brief nude scene and some strong (but appropriate in this situation) language at the end, this is an excellent movie for anyone about age 12 and up. It concerns a very nice young lady who is beloved by her small Bavarian town--until she makes the mistake of looking into the town's dark past. It starts innocently enough, as she is trying to write a paper about the town's heroes who resisted the Nazis. However, no one in town seems willing to talk about this "glorious resistance" and the town's archives are closed to her. Only after making herself a pain in the butt by suing the town repeatedly does she get ahold of records that prove little, if any resistance to the Nazis. In fact, many of the most beloved townsmen in fact HELPED and actively supported the Nazis.

The movie has a very odd artistic style. While it doesn't really detract from the film, you should see it to understand what I am talking about--it's quite unusual at times.

What is so interesting and incredible about the movie was how everyone turned against her so quickly and violently. My only complaint was that it only talked about German reactions to their past. On a trip to Salzburg, Austria just a few years back, I noticed a beautiful monument to the Waffen SS (the group that manned the death squads and enacted the "final solution") prominently displayed in the town's cemetery! Yes, this was the SAME cemetery in which the Von Trapp family hid in the movie The Sound of Music! If you are there some day, see it for yourself. It would be nice if someone confronted the apparently more open acceptance of their Nazi past here as well.

This is a magnificent film by Michael Verhoeven. I saw it when it came out years ago, and have just seen it again. It certainly holds up and if anything is more powerful now. The film contains one of the most astonishing performances by an actress I have ever seen. Lena Stolze plays the character Sonja from the age of 16 through to adulthood. How did she do it? She was already far from her teens when she played the cutest 16 year-old with pigtails and the innocent eyes of a child. Her whimsy and her manner made her perfect for this difficult part, and her success made the film work. The film itself was done in an equally whimsical manner, not troubling in many cases to use real sets or locations, but with a remarkable lightness of touch and confidence of technique, in many cases settling for set-ups of a theatrical nature, and the film is interspersed with pieces to camera by numerous characters. It sounds a mess, but it isn't, and it all holds together and works perfectly. Apart from the control kept over it by the director, this technique is successful because it accentuates the irony of the subject. And that subject is so troubling to all potential viewers, going as it does far beyond blindness to past Nazi activities, that if it were laid on heavy, it would not be accepted, because it would be perceived as an attack on everybody. But it is actually an attack on everybody, because the film seeks to expose a faultline in human nature of our tendency to conspire to forget, conspire not to see, and conspire to falsify reality. This hairline crack in human nature is a tendency to form what I call 'consensus reality', which is generally a shared fantasy in which we all agree to believe because it makes us feel better. The character Sonja in this film (based upon a real girl named Anja who actually had similar experiences) challenges consensus reality. And of course, she was attacked by absolutely everyone, her husband abandoned her, she was beaten, bombed, ostracised, and persecuted mercilessly for years. Her only 'crime' was to try to discover the story of her home town in Bavaria during the Nazi period. The fact is that just about everybody living in Germany during that period was seriously compromised, there were few heroes (despite the many claims of heroism which came after the War), and the majority of Germans actually approved of and supported the Nazis. One should never forget that Hitler was ELECTED. One can perhaps explain phenomena like the rise of Nazism by temporary insanity of a nation, but the nasty and despicable aftermath cannot be so explained. It is pure animal behaviour of the most revolting kind. The post-War behaviour of the Germans was in this sense even more offensive than their wartime behaviour. But they are not alone, nor are they worst in this tendency. After all, the Japanese still refuse to apologise for the War, and make offerings at shrines to 'war heroes' who were guilty of war crimes. Compared to that, the Germans are pussycats, they apologised long ago, and the younger generations have long since atoned and 'reformed'. If anyone tried even now to make a film like this about Japan, they would probably be killed by a raging mob. So put that in your meerschaum pipe and smoke it.

Based on real events around a student who, in the 80s, worked of the Nazi past of a Bavarian town and hence got torpedoed by the local regulars and authorities. Verhoeven stages his film with recourse on many alienating stylistic devices to not convey the impression of a mere narration or, by implication, of a documentary. Lena Stolze's, the 'nasty girl', speech directly to the audience is part of it, as well as the effect of an obvious rear projection of the municipal archive while we see the actors performing on stage around a desk. Furthermore, Verhoeven's consistency in sharpening the criticism on the German bourgeoisie is remarkable at the time of the nation's reunion when skeptical and 'unpatriotic' words weren't particularly popular. The overall effect of it is not the exposure of a concealed guilt, but the presentation of a disconcerting as well as funny permanent embarrassment, because we witness both: the knowledge and the laborious acts of ignorance. The mulishness of the girl might be a little infantile, because she hasn't put up with reality yet - and probably never will. But really childish and stubborn and therefore dangerous are all those authorities who try to block her search for truth all the time. In any way, it's a succeeded satire walking in the shoes of Valentin, Tucholsky and Brecht, exposing German hypocrisy to ridicule and putting fingers on apparently still open sores.

Lena Stolze and Director/Writer Verhoeven are the mot talented duo from Gemany to hit the big screen since Wertmuller and Giannini. Although Wertmuller excelled in romantic complications and Verhoeven excels in more serious issues, they are both masters of comedy. The first 45 minutes of this film is absolutely hilarious, as the sexy and intelligent Lena Stolze steals every scene she is in. The storyline takes a sharp left turn about halfway through, however, and delves into the mysteries of how everyday German citizens knew nothing about the mistreatment of Jews or concentration camps. And, of course, they were all in the resistance. The film is never dull, not even for a moment. And Lena Stolze gives a tour-de-force performance worthy of an Oscar.

A quirky and poignant film. It's human nature to try to fit into society--what is popular and convenient at the moment, whatever it may be. This movie delivers on this point very effectively. I think it's true that people in some societies are more susceptible to it than others for a number of reasons which I won't get into. Suffice it to say, Hitler was not an evil dictator as viewed by Germans at the time. Quite the opposite--he was their savior and chosen leader.

But I'm digressing. The Nasty Girl exposes the conceited nature in all of us. The question is, do you have any backbone when everyone is against you?

Spectacular film that impacted me absurdly when I watched it at the theaters in my 20s. Perfect rhythm and narrative, in an almost documentary tone, based on real facts, which shows how much of what we live is nothing more than an illusion manufactured by society, the media, religion and even the regional culture.

A deep dive into research and studies can lead us to discoveries that are absolutely opposite to those we were indoctrinated to learn as truths since childhood.

Excellent cinematographic work of production, direction, script, interpretation. All. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to watch an excellent movie with historical and political information and content about Nazism in Germany during Hitler's time.

When a young woman (Lena Stolze as a fictionalized version of Anna Rosmus) investigates her town's Nazi past, the community turns against her.

Rosmus wrote her first book, "Resistance and Persecution - The Case of Passau 1933-1939", which was published in 1983. Undeterred by threats, she now wrote "Exodus - In the Shadow of Mercy", a book focusing on the plight of Passau's Jews during the twentieth century. Her work continued to cause unprecedented uproar as well as international praise. She was eventually forced out and moved to America.

Lena Stolze is a perfect lead. She approaches the character an her world with a sense of wonder that anticipates "Amelie", though this material is much darker. The film, though light-hearted and innocent in many ways, does bring up an important point: it is not simply a matter of "erasing" or "forgetting" or "ignoring" history -- a community must actually confront it in order to move on.

The introductory half of the film can be seen as a comedy. It's funny and not very realistic. There is, however, a poignant undercurrent of criticism of the church, of the wealthy, and of narrowmindedness, showcasing people's ability to see only what they want to see. The second half becomes much more serious as Sonja encounters hostile and uncooperative people from her hometown.

Lena Stolze is very funny and charming as the younger, naive Sonja. But the shift between her young character and her old character is too abrupt. There is very little of the curious girl and more of the martyr (one scene suggests that perhaps she herself believes she is a martyr). In her last scene she takes a role completely different from either of these, and again, the change is abrupt (although this time it seems more justified).

The film seems too basic: Either the characters do or do not support Sonja, although some characters allow her to continue her activities only up to a certain point, and other characters lovingly disapprove of them. There is no real conflict for Sonja throughout the film because the people to whom she is closest support her ideas (though not always her methods). There is a lot of obvious malice in the townspeople's actions against her. Once Sonja obtains the necessary documents, her research seems very simple -- although it may have only been the director's choice to skip the laborious details.

The visual style will inspire some and annoy others.

This is worth seeing for the acting and the message that attitudes that seem past are very much a part of the present. But the comedic elements, excessive simplicity, and theatrical style of the film detract from its powerful message.

Who said germans have no sense of humor? When you can sympathise, and even smile while watching the eerie subject of this movie.

Other than breaking the humorless myth of the germans, to its Nazi past.

It's sure a past many people in Germany want to leave behind, and that's why this movie (and the main character of the film) is so daring of bringing it back. It opens old wounds, but is for the sake of keeping history alive, so it never repeats itself.