Greenberg and Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Suss

A (very) few words on two films that I saw today. I just don't have much time to write. But I do hope to have my best (favorites) of 2009 posted within the next week.

Greenberg is a good film about a lost soul named Roger Greenberg (a subdued Ben Stiller). He has just gotten out of a mental hospital because of a nervous breakdown. He arrives in LA from NYC and is staying at his vacationing brother's house. He gets involved with his brother's assistant Florence (Greta Gerwig) who is another lost soul. He also tries to mend things with his friend Ivan (Rhys Ifans) and his old girlfriend Beth (Jennifer Jason Leigh).

Writer/Director Noah Baumbach does a good job of making his characters feel real. This must be Stiller's best performance. And Gerwig is a real find. I look forward to seeing what she does in the future. I also liked Ifans. However, Jason Leigh (who is married to Baumbach and who co-wrote the story for the film) has very little to do in an underwritten role - which is too bad because she is a very good actress.

All in all, while not up to the standard of Baumbach's The Squid and the Whale Greenberg deserves to be seen.

Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Suss is a very interesting documentary directed by Felix Moeller. It tells a story that I knew nothing about. German director Viet Harlan was one of Germany's most celebrated filmmakers back in the 30s and 40s. At the beginning he made mostly melodramas. However, with the rise of Nazism he was asked to make Jew Suss, which is one of the most anti-Semitic films ever made.

During the film we see clips from Harlan's films. There are interviews with Harlan's children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. The big question is did he want to make Jew Suss or was he forced into it with threats? You can draw your own conclusions. In any case, I do recommend this film because it gives us one more piece of history from the darkest period of the 20th century.