If this had not been based on true events it would be hard to pass this off as a feasible storyline. But, in the freak show that was Nazi Germany, anything is (and was) tragically possible.
One should not forget that this was just a sporting event - and the voracity of 'The Games' has always been in question - then and since. But the effect, on all the characters of this film, of the manipulation and corruption of the event as a political propaganda exercise was startling.
The mood and locations of Berlin 36 were impressive, as were the cinematic effects. The cast were excellent, Herfurth gritty and determined, and a particularly difficult role for the actor playing Marie.
One could argue that the male pretending to be female was stretching credibility and was obviously a fraud, but then I remember a lot of the East German and Soviet 'female' athletes of the 70s looking decidedly masculine...how they passed muster I shall never know. Another example of how nation states can pervert the Olympics.
The atmosphere begins originally light (as you would expect with a gathering of female teenage athletes), but still with the sinister undercurrent of emerging anti-semitism becoming more blatant and personal with plenty of dark clouds gathering on the horizon.
The story tells itself. It portrays other individuals' guilt and culpability but in a not overtly judgemental way. The facts are laid out and the conclusions inescapable. Good storytelling, well directed and entertaining.
I would recommend this film not just as a welcome reminder, should one be needed, of what a supposedly civilised nation is capable of but also as a fascinating account of what effect moral bankruptcy can have throughout the whole of society and on the individuals concerned for the remainder of their lives (should they be lucky enough to survive, of course).
