I had the opportunity to sit down and watch "Führer und Verführer" (aka "Führer and Seducer"), and I needed no persuasion to watch this movie from writer and director Joachim Lang. If you have but an ounce of historical interest, then this is a movie that you would want to watch.
Sure, most of us are familiar with the basic events of World War II and the outcome of the war, but writer and director Joachim Lang offers sort of an insight to the machinery behind the man in charge. And it is a rather memorable and impactful insight. While the events and the characters portrayed in the are indeed atrocious and vile, then it is a crucial part of the history of the world, and thus is something we cannot and must not ignore. And on that account alone, "Führer und Verführer" is a movie that dictates it worthy of watching.
I have to say that I was genuinely entertained throughout the course of the 135 minutes that the movie ran for. Partially because of the storyline, but most certainly also because of some very imposing and impressive performances by the cast.
Leading actors Robert Stadlober and Fritz Karl, portraying Joseph Goebbels and Adolf Hitler respectively, might be portraying some of the more infamous persons in the history of the world, but they do so in very compelling and impressive ways, very realistic ways I would say. They really carry the movie quite well with their performances and I sincerely hope they get some acknowledgement for their performances in this movie. While Fritz Karl does portray Hitler disturbingly well, it just wasn't as impressive as Bruno Ganz did in the 2004 movie "Der Untergang". Regardless, the entire cast ensemble in this 2024 movie delivered great performances that most definitely brought not only the storyline to life on the screen, but most certainly also the characters they portrayed.
"Führer und Verführer" is a movie that might not be fitting for just about everyone in the audience, as it is an emotionally strong and moving movie, and the fact that writer and director Joachim Lang included actual footage from World War II makes it all the more hard-hitting, especially since there are some very hard to watch scenes included. But again, just as the movie closes off with saying, "it happened... and it can therefor happen again.", which resonates very true, despite the fact that it is a hauntingly scary sentence.
I was not prepared for the movie to be as gripping and compelling as it was, but that just made sitting through it all the more of a memorable experience. And thus, this is without a doubt a movie that I will recommend you to sit down and watch.
My rating of writer and director Joachim Lang's 2024 movie "Führer und Verführer" lands on a seven out of ten stars.
