'Forbidden Films' raises interesting moral arguments
The documentary 鈥淔orbidden Films: The Hidden Legacy of Nazi Films,鈥� directed by Felix Moeller, is about the 40 Nazi-produced movies that, except for closely monitored screenings in a scholarly context, are still banned in Germany from public showings or broadcasts. 聽
Some of the films, such as the notorious 鈥淭he Eternal Jew鈥� and 鈥淛ew S眉ss,鈥� which was more popular in Germany in its day than 鈥淭itanic鈥� was in the 1990s, are well known. But the documentary also includes clips from a range of anti-Russian/Polish/British/French propaganda films, as well as a pro-euthanasia melodrama, with talking-heads commentary mostly from German film historians and filmmakers (including Margarethe von Trotta).聽
The film raises the question: Should these films 鈥� some of which, crude as they are, are still poisonous 鈥� be made available to the general public without restriction? The historical argument, it would seem to me, points to yes. The moral argument is far more complex. Grade: B+ (Unrated.)
