Latest news with #Lowlands
Sydney Morning Herald
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Hitler's favourite filmmaker always denied she was a Nazi. Now we know the truth
'She was just stuck in the storytelling – 'I was just an artist', 'I was never interested in politics', 'I never had much to do with all these Nazi politicians',' Veiel said. The documentary also argues Riefenstahl was an eyewitness to Nazis murdering Jews in Poland in 1939 and Romany children who had worked as extras on her film Lowlands in 1941. While it might seem esoteric to debate the reputation of a long-dead filmmaker, Veiel said the visually striking aesthetics that Riefenstahl pioneered were being revived to support powerful leaders globally. He first noticed it watching a Moscow military parade in 2022. 'I thought, it's Triumph of the Will,' he said. 'It's the low-angle shot on Putin, it's the marching soldiers and you have the strength and the celebration of the courageous soldier fighting the so-called Nazis in Ukraine.' Veiel said he was troubled that concepts embodied in Olympia – the celebration of the beautiful, strong and victorious while disregarding anyone who falls short – were being spread by the resurgent far right. 'When you think of Hitler, he was not the tough, bright guy,' he said. 'So he projected heroism into the so-called German race.'
The Age
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Hitler's favourite filmmaker always denied she was a Nazi. Now we know the truth
'She was just stuck in the storytelling – 'I was just an artist', 'I was never interested in politics', 'I never had much to do with all these Nazi politicians',' Veiel said. The documentary also argues Riefenstahl was an eyewitness to Nazis murdering Jews in Poland in 1939 and Romany children who had worked as extras on her film Lowlands in 1941. While it might seem esoteric to debate the reputation of a long-dead filmmaker, Veiel said the visually striking aesthetics that Riefenstahl pioneered were being revived to support powerful leaders globally. He first noticed it watching a Moscow military parade in 2022. 'I thought, it's Triumph of the Will,' he said. 'It's the low-angle shot on Putin, it's the marching soldiers and you have the strength and the celebration of the courageous soldier fighting the so-called Nazis in Ukraine.' Veiel said he was troubled that concepts embodied in Olympia – the celebration of the beautiful, strong and victorious while disregarding anyone who falls short – were being spread by the resurgent far right. 'When you think of Hitler, he was not the tough, bright guy,' he said. 'So he projected heroism into the so-called German race.'
