Rating: 
Summary: Beneath the Night
Review: We are what we pretend to be to everyone but ourselves, aren't we? That is one of the recurring themes in the film adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's novel Mother Night. This film pushes at a person's psyche, causing one to think on several different levels. The underlying themes are what make the major impact in this film and can be applied to anything as well as the themes' cloak, World War II. Armed with Vonnegut's caustic humour and subtle irony, the filmmakers created a weave of themes for the watcher to unravel; themes ranging from a person's existence to ignorance. The movie's opening sequence is enough to reveal to the watcher that this movie will be rife with ironic occurrences. The sequence begins with a black and white depiction of the Israeli flag while Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" plays over the scene of guards escorting an elderly Howard W. Campbell to his cell. There he is instructed to write his memoirs. We are taken back to when Campbell was an American child in Germany, and from that point he grows into a promising playwright. He become a sort of golden boy in the German stage circuit. He is later recruited into the American spy world and becomes one of America's most effective agents. Each week, Campbell broadcasts a fiery speech about Nazi ideals. These speeches are heard throughout the world, causing most people to hate Howard W. Campbell, Jr., while the Nazis idolize him. The catch with Campbell's speeches where the coded messages inside of the words. Campbell would write his speech then send it to his "editors". These people would then send it back with notes on when to pause, cough, clear his throat, and other such gestures. These breaks where relayed over the radios and to America, where someone interpreted the signals. Here is where Campbell's dilemmas begin and here is where the themes of this movie are introduced. "You are what you pretend to be" is the most significant of these themes. We are what other people believe us to be. With the exception of four people, Campbell included, no one knew that Campbell was actually a spy relaying messages to the Americans. In his eyes, Howard W. Campbell, Jr., was a good man. To the rest of the world, Howard W. Campbell, Jr., was a good nazi. His weekly speeches stirred the passions of German citizens. The speeches struck the citizens' emotions, causing the people to stand stronger and fight longer for their worthy cause. I found another theme inside of this film, one that struck me as most disturbing. The theme of the danger of ignorance. When Campbell is in Germany, there is true, unabashed hatred for those who were not German. Nazis actually hunted down these people and murdered them, because the Nazis just knew that those people where the scum of the earth. Later on when Campbell is living in New York City and the white supremacists find his address, they offer what most people write off as simple comic relief. The dentist turned reverend studied the jaw lines of paintings of Jesus. His conclusion was that Jesus was not a Jew because he had no Jewish jaw line. The reverend wrote a book on just that subject. The willing death of Mr. Krapptaur at the feet of Campbell, his idol, was strange and sudden. These actions seemed to be much more than a simple farce to me. It was like some twilight zone. The actions made me wonder if those men actually understood the consequences of what they were doing. Those men should have been taken to the death camps to see with their own eyes what their immature hatred was capable of destroying. Would they then bow before Howard W. Campbell, Jr.? So the circle of the movie goes on, the plot running into and over itself, weaving over holes and through history. Themes that apply to a world now as well as a world when Vonnegut concocted this novel, and themes that will always apply to this unending circle of history. The difference between how you see yourself and how others see you is outlined in this film as well as the factor ignorance plays in our lives. Mother Night is a movie for someone who appreciates irony, and it is a movie for someone who is not afraid to be confronted with the truth that you are what you pretend to be.
Rating: 
Summary: Well-meaning but fumbled adaptation
Review: Well-intentioned adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut novel goes somewhat awry. Fictitious story of an American version of Lord Haw Haw, who was in fact an American spy, has great period feel and a good deal of intelligence behind it, but remains frustratingly confused when it's over. Film doesn't seem to know what sides to take on its own story, so it gives us everything, and winds up feeling morally confused. Nolte's excellent performance is reason alone to see it, however.
Rating:
Summary: WW2 drama with lots of twists
Review: When I saw the cover I expected some kind of WW2 spy thriller, and if it wasn't for Nolte I wouldn't have bothered with it. There's been lot of WW2 spy movies, but this one is a breed apart, because it's drama and suspense aren't derived from the usual "will he be found out now?" thrills, but from the deep emotions and the dramatic love life of the spy. I was really moved by the strong love for his wife and could feel Nolte's loss and despair as the story evolved. Most of the film takes place in the sixties, and the way Nolte deals with his past, and how his past creeps up on him in the most unexpected ways, further complicating his life. One of the best parts of the film is the end, I won't spoil it, but it's no happy end (as no drama should be). I haven't bought the film yet, but as soon as it's released on DVD I will!
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