by Michael Sanchez
Daily Lobo
"Taking Sides" brings us yet another brilliant performance from veteran actor Harvey Keitel.
The film explores unique aspects of the consequences of World War II and confronts the difficult feelings people had to come to grips with in its aftermath.
Set in Germany just after the war's end, Maj. Steve Arnold (Keitel) is assigned to investigate the career of world-famous conductor and Jew, Wilhelm FurtwÑngler, for possible ties to the Nazi Party.
Considered to be the greatest conductor in the world, FurtwÑngler (Stellan SkarsgÜrd) did not leave Germany when the war broke out. He performed at Nazi celebrations and at an event the night before Hitler's birthday. Although his name is not officially on the list of party members, the Army feels his connections to the Nazis are too apparent to be ignored.
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The psychological interaction between Keitel and SkarsgÜrd is the most interesting relationship on screen and is what makes the movie work. Both actors play their characters with the kind of wear and tear appropriate for people who have just been through the biggest war in history.
Keitel plays a driven man hunter, borderline obsessive - the kind of uncompromising officer who always gets his man. SkarsgÜrd, on the other hand, plays the shell of a great man, broken by his experience in World War II.
FurtwÑngler is a man of great contradictions and this is clear from the onset of the film. His morals were severely tested during the time of the Third Reich's rise to power. He believes art and politics should always be kept separate at the beginning of the picture, but as the film progresses, so do his views.
Eventually, FurtwÑngler admits that it's difficult at best to keep the two separate.
In Arnold's interviews with the members of the orchestra, it's fascinating to watch their reactions to his line of questioning. All of the people Arnold speaks to are blindly loyal to the conductor. They cite an apparently famous story of FurtwÑngler refusing to give the Nazi salute while Hitler was in the room.
In the background, a short romance begins between Arnold's secretary and an Army officer stationed in his office. This was possibly intended to show the lovelorn attitudes of the German people after the war, but it served no function in the advancement of the film.
"Taking Sides" highlights the often unspoken attitude people had about Germans after the war. They didn't necessarily have to be Nazis for negative stereotypes to flare up - suspicion was enough.
Keitel illustrates this dominant theme flawlessly and with increasing emphasis as the movie advances. At the end, it remains unclear whether FurtwÑngler was truly a Nazi sympathizer or just a musician caught in the complicated web of war politics.
Keitel's words end the film, lamenting the fact that he didn't get his man this time, but applauding himself for emotionally wounding FurtwÑngler.
Complicated in its psychological effects and important for the questions it raises, "Taking Sides" should be considered a contributor to the general understanding of World War II, much as "Schindler's List" has. Another brilliant performance from Keitel and a stellar bit of work from SkarsgÜrd make this film a must-see.
