Subtle account of the nurturing of hate

Rating: 9/10 (23 November 2009)

I've seen more than my fair share of hateful behaviour during my lifetime so there were points during this film that seemed to drag. I don't think this makes it a bad film or a poor edit however.
It struck me that there was a great deal of honesty about the treatment of the subject of hate. All of the action appears to have occurred during the year 1913-14 before the Great War began in earnest. The attitudes are those promulgated by the particular Calvinist sects that operated in the German speaking world. That hardness was also prevalent elsewhere in the English speaking world so it is not fair to suggest that Nazi's were bred this way. The Germanic way of subsuming emotions, however, has a lot to answer for.
This film is, in a way, showing what happens when so called 'spiritual' ideals are placed above emotional bonds. There are many heart rending moments but, the one that struck me most was the Doctor's young sensitive son giving his father the bird he'd rescued in order to make his father feel better about the loss of the caged bird. Not only is the son considerate and emotionally intelligent but he sets his father a challenge. It's a very intelligent challenge and one that needs to be seen in the doctor's relationship with his murdering daughter. An incredible film, produced with great mastery and perfectly shot in a period feeling black and white. A must see.