Mein bester Feind

this movie faithfully and loyally portrayed how a rich Jewish family and a great friendship suddenly turned bad after the crazy Hitler came into power. the things that affected me deeply is that when lives hung dangerously unpredictable before and when the big catastrophe happened, rich and poor people still naively hold their earthly properties so dearly and would have tried every way to not let go. they didn't know when the disaster strikes, it's without prejudice and discrimination, nothing would be more important than your life. precious artworks such as great paintings, unless they could buy you a pathway to safety and freedom, they would be nothing but burdens that only blocked your passage to freedom.

i've seen those documentary films about Jewish people rounded up and forced unto the one way death trains to concentration camps, they were still burdened themselves with carry-on luggage, suitcases, handbags....they were still so naively believed that those things could ensure them a more comfortable trip, those stuff could make them feel more confident that they still owned something absolutely necessary in their lives. but they didn't know that their lives were cliffhanging on the upcoming elimination of the gas chambers.

a famous Greek painting was the focus of this dark movie, and i just felt so ridiculous to see how the Nazis tried to get the genuine one back to their hands.

suppose the world your live in suddenly comes to an end, owning a painting or a diamond, or a great mansion, or a huge saving and checking account and so on, would be totally meaningless. when world ends, only one big NADA would exist, nothing else.

and this movie could teach you a lot about the real value of property ownership.

The story line was entertaining for the full 109 minutes, with several unexpected turns to keep us awake. The film initially shows a short scene of an airplane that was shot, leaving only a few survivors. It immediately jumps back to what happened before, and returns half way to pick up the story after the plane crash. Regardless, the story line remains clear and interesting throughout, maybe even thanks to this flashback and forward.

I saw this film at the 2011 Berlinale filmfestival on a Sunday morning as part of a large (over 1,500) audience. I can only assume that the majority was of German origin. I saw a cross section of nearly all ages present, maybe except people old enough to have actually lived during World War II. Nevertheless, a considerable part of the audience would have heard their fair share about this dark part of German history. Regardless of that being the main topic, all present were apparently enjoying what was shown on the screen.

The scenario scratches the surface of the well-known good versus bad choices one can make to advance a career, or conversely to keep principles upright and refusing to go along with the common trends. I consider it logical that this film does not take a vigorous stand, being intended for general viewing, but still presenting the dilemma's in a compelling way.

In conclusion I find that the film makers did a good job, by keeping the end product attractive for a broad public, and simultaneously not trying to evade the underlying problems of choices that everyone makes in a lifetime. After all, it is easy for us to judge those choices as bad. Upcoming Nazism before the World War II involved many such situations, and thus offers an infinite source of subjects for films like this one.

However, these dilemma's are an inherent part of a broader issue. This is confined to neither the 1930-1945 time frame nor to Germany. I saw at least 5 other films that revolved around similar situations, all of them released in the last 12 months, based on recent developments in very different countries and regimes.

Excellent film, love the twists and turns of the plot. While I did laugh at certain points, wouldn't call this a 'dark comedy' - life as you live it is a comedy. But take the time, read the captions, and lose yourself in an excellent victory over darkness. And the final scene - fantastic! Spot on and excellent, my friends!

Other reviewers of this film mention the chore of listening to the German language while reading subtitles, but believe me, it could be a lot worse. My copy of this dvd was dubbed rather than subtitled, and the uninspired American voices emanating from the mouths of the actors diminished the believability of this WWII drama. For a while, it was unintentionally funny to hear Victor Kaufmann's parents, Hannah and Jakob, conversing in a West Texas drawl, but the Nazi guards, who sounded a lot like Charley Sheen, were not very convincing. My dvd was marked as an IFC film marketed by Phase 4 Films. Try to avoid that label like the plague. The Trailer for My Best Enemy, available on this IMBD website, offers the original German language with subtitles, and provides us with a glimpse of what looks like a pretty exciting story, if one can just find a copy that's free of dubbing.

This is a good period drama that conveys well the craziness that pervaded the Nazi regime. However, I found nothing humorous in this film and can't imagine why anyone would classify it as even a "Dark Comedy". Tragic things occur in this film and they only begin to touch on the actual tragedies perpetrated during the war.

I thought that the actors did a great job of conveying the personalities and tribulations of the characters. It's difficult to have a film set in World War 2 that deals with the Nazi regime without seeing stereotypes but the characters here are nearly entirely believable as individuals. Even those that fit stereotypes are believable as individuals because they are neither common nor used as a bludgeon.

The settings and costumes are all very well done and help bring the viewer to that time and place. I especially found that the locations used were extremely well-chosen and helped to give a feeling of actually being in those places.

I definitely recommend "My Best Enemy" but set your expectations appropriately, it's a drama.