Look Who's Back (film)
| Look Who's Back | |
|---|---|
 Original German movie poster | |
| Directed by | David Wnendt |
| Produced by |
Lars Dittrich, Christopher Müller |
| Screenplay by | David Wnendt, Johannes Boss, Minna Fischgartl, Timur Vermes |
| Based on |
Look Who's Back by Timur Vermes |
| Starring |
Oliver Masucci Fabian Busch Katja Riemann Christoph Maria Herbst Franziska Wulf Michael Kessler |
| Music by | Enis Rotthoff |
| Cinematography | Hanno Lentz |
| Edited by | Hans Funck |
| Distributed by | Constantin Film (Germany) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German |
 |
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Look Who's Back (German: Er ist wieder da, pronounced [ʔeːɐ̯ ʔɪst ˈviːdɐ daː]; literal translation: "There he is again") is a 2015 German comedy film directed by David Wnendt,[1] based on the bestselling[2] satirical novel of the same name about Adolf Hitler by Timur Vermes.[3][4][5] The film features unscripted vignettes of Oliver Masucci as Hitler interacting with German civilians while in character, interspersed with scripted storyline sequences.[6]
Plot
Adolf Hitler (Oliver Masucci) wakes up in present-day Berlin, in a park where his former wartime bunker once stood, and with no memory of anything that happened after 1945. He is disoriented and interprets modern situations and things from a Nazi perspective.[1][3][5][7] Everyone he meets assumes he is an actor impersonating Hitler rather than the real Adolf Hitler. He arrives at a newspaper kiosk and begins to read about modern day issues in Germany. Through these newspapers he discovers a completely different ideology from the country he left and not an ideology agreeable to his taste.
Hitler next meets Fabian Sawatzki (Fabian Busch) of the ragtag station MyTV who had been coincidentally filming a documentary about the children of Berlin in the park where Hitler wakes up. Sawatzki had sifted through the video and noticed Hitler waking up in the background. Sawatzki proposes to use Hitler in a TV show, and both Hitler and MyTV go along with the plan. Sawatzki's first idea, a nature show, gets rained out. His second idea, a show about animals, ends suddenly when Hitler shoots a belligerent dog with a concealed pistol (which Sawatzki quickly confiscates) It is Hitler who suggests that the subject of the film be politics. The two set out on a journey to different places in Germany, with Hitler talking to the people being filmed, learning about their issues, and promising to help. Hitler finds himself disillusioned with the German political spectrum. He disparages the ruling CDU as "Bavarian social drinkers", and still bears a strong grudge against the SPD as the party of Friedrich Ebert. The only party Hitler agrees with is the Green party as their program is similar to his Blut und Boden campaign (save for their rejection of nuclear power, which he feels is necessary to manufacture nuclear weapons). In the meantime, Sawatzki is broke so in between filming he convinces Hitler to become a street performing sketch artist to make some money.
After returning to Berlin, Sawatzki introduces both Hitler and his film to the the MyTV station chiefs. The MyTV chairman, Katja Bellini (Katja Riemann), decides to use Hitler in one of the MyTV comedy shows. Before Hitler goes on the air, he learns about the Internet and uses the Web to learn about the modern world and prepare his return to politics. While on TV, Hitler presents his old plans for world domination, but he unintentionally becomes a big comedy hit.
As Hitler's unintentional prowess in comedy increases, Christoph Sensebrink (Christoph Maria Herbst), one of the MyTV executives, discovers the unedited scene from Sawatzki's documentary where Hitler had shot the dog. In a Machiavellian move, Sensebrink shows this footage on air, ruining the burgeoning career of both Hitler and Bellini, and resulting in his own promotion to station chief.
With the help of Bellini and Sawatzki, Hitler publishes a new autobiographical book about his new life in the 21st century, titled Er ist wieder da (Look Who's Back), and it becomes a bestseller. The book's popularity overshadows Hitler's controversy over the dog he had killed. Soon after, the book is turned into a film. Without Hitler, ratings and ad revenue at MyTV drop precipitously and Sensebrink, after a fit of rage which parodies Hitler's breakdown in the German film Downfall, decides he must publish Hitler's new film.
Hitler plays himself in the movie and during the filming he is beaten by two neo-Nazis who mistakenly believe him to be an impersonator and a fraud. Hitler is hospitalized, but the news of his beating generates sympathy and he returns to high standing with the German people. While Hitler is recuperating, Sawatzki reviews his old footage from when he discovers a Terminator-esque ball of energy in a piece of footage, after which Hitler first appeared. Returning to the site, he finds burnt leaves. With horror, he realizes that Hitler is not an actor, but the genuine article. He rushes to the hospital to confront Hitler, but he only finds Katja, who says that Hitler was back at the movie studio. When Katja doesn't understand him when he says he found the real Hitler, Sawatzki trashes the hospital room in frustration.
Sawatzki arrives at the movie studio, where he forces Hitler on to the roof at gunpoint with his own confiscated pistol. Calmly, Hitler replies that he was elected by the German people, and if he is a monster, then so is every German. This prompts Sawatzki to shoot Hitler in the face, where he falls off the roof to his apparent death. Suddenly Hitler reappears behind Sawatzki, claiming he cannot be killed, as he is a part of every German. This entire scene was revealed to be a part of the movie, and Sawatzi was merely a body double in a silicone mask. The real Sawatzki had been committed to a Mental hospital following his previous outburst.
Once the work for his movie finishes, Hitler senses that he is on the path to a political comeback. He is more popular than ever, and nationalist Germans give Hitler hope that Germany might be ready for his return to power. The film ends with Hitler's words, "I can work with this" amongst images of actual politically motivated right-wing violence and demonstrations, and with Hitler and Bellini riding in the back seat of an open Mercedes convertible (reminiscent of the Mercedes-Benz W31).
References
- 1 2 Connolly, Kate (6 October 2015). "David Wnendt on filming Look Who's Back: 'Our idea was to see how people react to Hitler'". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- ↑ German Comic Novel About Hitler Becomes Bestseller, at Algemeiner Journal; published 7 January 2013; retrieved 16 December 2013
- 1 2 Jaafar, Ali (21 October 2015). "Hitler Pic ‘Look Who’s Back’ A Smash In Germany". Deadline. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- ↑ Taylor, Adam (24 October 2015). "Look Who’s Back: New film asking what would happen it Hitler returned to Germany has a worrying answer". The Independent. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- 1 2 Hofmann, Sarah Judith (9 October 2015). "Hitler is ′back′ - but did he ever leave?". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- ↑ Lee, Benjamin (27 October 2015). "Hitler comedy Look Who's Back becomes Germany's No 1 movie". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- ↑ Lindsay, Duncan (7 October 2015). "Look Who's Back movie follows 'Hitler' in modern Germany and how people react to him". Metro. Retrieved 16 November 2015.