Is It Worth the Watch?

I love strange and bizarre movies (probably not a surprise to you), and 2015’s Look Who’s Back (Er ist wieder da) may be one of the oddest I’ve ever seen.

Based on a best selling German novel by Timur Vermes, the film follows Adolf Hitler after he magically wakes up in modern day Berlin, is mistaken for a comedian, becomes a media star, and eventually a political force. The film is both scripted and improvised, as Oliver Masucci (in a brilliant performance as Hitler) interacts with unknowing people on the streets, getting them, at times, to fervently agree with his extreme ideas on immigration and race relations. The tone of the movie shifts from fantasy to whimsy to witty banter to slapstick comedy to serious drama to unsettling commentary. Sadly, the film prophesied the rise of the radical right by two years.

It’s absorbing and funny and disconcerting and frightening and depressing, often all at the same time. Look Who’s Back is in German with English subtitles.

Is It Worth The Watch? It offers a unique cinematic experience, where the viewer is often unsure what to think or how to react emotionally. That, as well as Masucci’s exceptional performance as Hitler, makes it unforgettable.

2015

116 minutes

Starring – Oliver Masucci, Fabian Busch, Katja Riemann, Christoph Maria Herbst

Director – David Wnendt

Screenplay – Johannes Boss, Minna Fischgartl, David Wnendt

Source – Timur Vermes’ 2012 novel of the same title