Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Suess (2008) Harlan - Im Schatten von Jud Süss (original title)

Director:

Felix Moeller

Writer:

Felix Moeller (written by)

Release Date:

23 April 2009 (Germany)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Though almost forgotten today, Veit Harlan was one of Nazi Germany's most notorious filmmakers....

Plot Keywords:

Third Reich | Propaganda | Filmmaker | Nazi Germany | World War Two

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

August Zirner	...	Narrator (voice)
Alice Harlan	...	Herself
Lotte Harlan	...	Herself
Nele Harlan	...	Herself
Lena Harlan	...	Herself
Thomas Harlan	...	Himself
Kristian Veit Harlan	...	Himself
Caspar Veit Harlan	...	Himself
Maria Körber	...	Herself
Veit Harlan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jan Harlan	...	Himself
Christiane Kubrick	...	Herself
Hilde Körber	...	Herself (archive footage)
Kristina Söderbaum	...	Herself (archive footage)
Susanne Körber-Harlan	...	Herself (archive footage)
Jessica Jacoby	...	Herself
Chester Harlan	...	Himself
Stefan Drössler	...	Himself, film historian

Directed by
Felix Moeller

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Felix Moeller		written by

Produced by
Amelie Latscha	....	executive producer
Amelie Latscha	....	producer
Felix Moeller	....	executive producer
Outi Saarikoski	....	producer

Original Music by
Marco Hertenstein

Cinematography by
Ludolph Weyer

Film Editing by
Anette Fleming

Sound Department
Michael Mitschka	....	sound mixer

Production Companies

• Blueprint Film
• Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung
• Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR)
• Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB)
• Transit Film
• Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)
• YLE (co-production)

Distributors

• Edition Salzgeber (2009) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Momentum Pictures (2010) (UK) (theatrical)
• Zeitgeist Films (2010) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2012) (Finland) (TV)

Also Known As:

"Harlan - Im Schatten von Jud Süss" - Germany (original title)

Runtime:

Germany:100 min

Country:

Germany | Finland

Language:

German | French | Italian

Color:

Color (HD) | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

6-Track Stereo | Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Company:

Blueprint Film

Light and darkness

And of course the shadow. The thing is, that there is not that much light into the matter. All relatives of the director of the infamous "Jud Süß", the propaganda film of the Nazi Regime, talk here. And they have different opinions on the movie and their father (or grandfather in some cases).

The question if he knew what was going on will not be entirely solved though. If that is what you are looking for you will be disappointed. In general, there is not that much information you will gain from this documentary. It will tell you how some people felt about the movie, what happened in some years, but I am missing the depth. What I did like, was the fact, that there still is some controversy amongst the siblings (some even defending the choice of Harlan, when he made the movie).

It is difficult for a filmmaker and it must have been even more difficult. It's just a shame there was never a complete reveal of what happened. Was it the Regime that made him do it or did he believe what he was filming too? If the latter is true, than he was a criminal too. It seems we will never know for sure. I hope that they will make a documentary about the dilemma of directors though that shines a light on this subject once more