Mein Kampf (2009)

The young, despotic and untalented artist Adolf Hitler comes to Vienna to study art. He befriends the Jew Schlomo Herzl working on a novel with the title "Mein Kampf". Hitler is rejected by... See full summary »

Director:

Urs Odermatt

Writers:

Martin Lehwald (by), Urs Odermatt (by),

Stars:

Götz George, Tom Schilling, Anna Unterberger

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Götz George	...	Schlomo Herzl
Tom Schilling	...	Adolf Hitler
Anna Unterberger	...	Gretchen
Bernd Birkhahn	...	Lobkowitz
Wolf Bachofner	...	Himmlischst
Elisabeth Orth	...	Frau Tod
Karin Neuhäuser	...	Frau Merschmeyer
Simon Schwarz	...	Max
Paul Matic	...	Erich
Henning Peker	...	Anton
Wolfgang Hübsch	...	Mandelbaum
Ernst Stankovski	...	Rektor
Michael Ostrowski	...	Kleiner Dieb
Franz Josef Csencsits	...	Großer Dieb
Kajetan Dick	...	Der Rothaarige

Storyline

The young, despotic and untalented artist Adolf Hitler comes to Vienna to study art. He befriends the Jew Schlomo Herzl working on a novel with the title "Mein Kampf". Hitler is rejected by the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. Herzl's concern for the sad young man continues, and leads him to a new career with disastrous consequences for world history.

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Plot Keywords:

painter | jewish people | 1900s | vienna austria | 1910s | 

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy

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Details

Country:

Austria Germany Switzerland

Language:

German

Release Date:

26 March 2010 (Austria)

Also Known As:

Dawn of Evil: Rise of the Reich

Filming Locations:

Liberec, Czech Republic

Company Credits

Production Co:

Schiwago Film, Dor Film Produktionsgesellschaft, hugofilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

User Reviews

It could have been so good

I own and have read the real Mein Kampf, written by Adolf Hitler during his short stay in prison, and also quite a lot of other literature about Hitler and his early years, which is important, since Hitler did not shy from lying in the book.

Now, the film about Hitler's early years in Vienna could have been so good if it didn't try to explain every little thing that would later happen - the idea to the swastika for example, or even the growth of his now characteristic moustache.

The film portrays Hitler as a young, from the beginning hateful man who is adopted by a jew (of course) and how he drops from being a failed painter to a leader of a small group of thugs, leading them against the jews.

This is ridiculous and has very little with the truth to do. The only thing the film gets right is: Hitler failed getting into the art academy. That's it. The rest is a some kind of desperate attempt to explain every little detail with the later NSDAP and antisemitic movement and of course Hitler himself, which is a pity really, since I looked forward to seeing a film about the early years without the bias towards Hitler - which of course is hard to shy away from if one is a normal, thinking person.

Technically it is brilliant, and the acting is good - what the film lacks is a more observing eye or script, which is the basics in ANY good film.

I would not recommend it, unless one has nothing else to watch and don't care about details as a history buff, because it is good enough to kill a couple of hours with. Despite the flaws.