Mother Night (1996)

Director:

Keith Gordon

Writers (WGA):

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (novel)
Robert B. Weide (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 November 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

Howard W. Campbell, Jr., is the most patriotic American in the Third Reich.

Plot:

An American spy behind the lines during WWII serves as a Nazi propagandist, a role he cannot escape in his future life as he can never reveal his real role in the war.

Plot Keywords:

American | Spy | Germany | Nazi | Memoir

Cast

Nick Nolte	...	Howard Campbell
Sheryl Lee	...	Helga Noth / Resi Noth
Alan Arkin	...	George Kraft
Bernard Behrens	...	Reverend Dr. Lionel Jones
Anna Berger	...	Epstein's Mother
Arye Gross	...	Dr. Abraham Epstein
Norman Rodway	...	Werner Noth
Frankie Faison	...	Robert Sterling Wilson
Gerard Parkes	...	Father Patrick Keeley
Vlasta Vrana	...	August Krapptauer
Zach Grenier	...	Joseph Goebbels
Kirsten Dunst	...	Young Resi Noth
Anthony J. Robinow	...	Prison Warden
Michael McGill	...	Prison Official
Shimon Aviel	...	Guard Bernard Liebman

MPAA:

Rated R for a scene of sexuality.

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | Yiddish

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Finland:K-14 | Portugal:M/12 (video premiere) | Spain:18 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Fine Line Features

Trivia:

While they are hiding out, Campbell (Nick Nolte) says to Resi and George, "In spite of everything, I still believe people are really good at heart," a direct quote from "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank.

Quotes:

George Kraft: All the best writers are dead.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Soundtrack:

Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten

Nick Nolte plays the free world's best friend- and worst enemy

This is a very chilling, and for the most part, a well thought out drama. I am very impressed at the film, not just for the plot and superb acting, but that such a unique movie was made. Most movies involving a spy or a war are filled with a slick talking Brit or a mighty battle, but not this. This isn't about this kind of war, its about the war between a man and his position in life, an American spy in Germany, posing as a supporter of an evil no one will ever forget. When the war is over, Campell thinks he will come home as a hero, but his true heroic stance must remain a government secret. Going back to America, Campell meets Nazi supporters as well as Nazi haters, providing for interesting conflicts, both internally and externally. Nolte more than pulls off the role, and fits the plot quite well for what it's asking.