Max

MAX(15)

D: Menno Meyjes

Lionsgate/Pathé/Alliance Atlantis/UK Film Council/Kinowelt/Aconit/H2O (Andras Hamori)

UK/Hungary/Canada 2002

106 mins

Drama/War

W: Menno Meyjes

DP: Lajos Koltai

Ed: Chris Wyatt

Mus: Dan Jones

PD: Ben Van Os

John Cusack (Max Rothman), Noah Taylor (Adolf Hitler), Molly Parker (Nina Rothman), Leelee Sobieski (Liselore), Ulrich Thomsen (Capt. Mayr)

Set in the days following the end of World War I, when Germany is still reeling from defeat and suffering the political implications of the conflict, a Jewish arts dealer strikes up an unlikely friendship with a young Adolf Hitler, in-between his career as an artist and politician.

The film does flirt with Hitler's anti-Semitic outlook without fully exploring it, and does seem to hint at it escalating due to their dematerialising friendship.

Good performances really hold the movie together, especially from Noah Taylor, who would go on to play Der Führer in a television show a few years later. A special mention also has to go to Ben Van Os, for his excellent production design which captures the period with an air of animosity creeping in, just as the fascist regime did at the time.

7/10