Analysis of the Movie Max

The film, Max, was directed by Menno Meyjes and those who stared included John Cusack (Max Rothman) and Noah Taylor (Adolf Hitler) among others. The major theme in the movie is the aftermath of the First World War where by, after the collapse of the Kaiser Imperial Reich, the Germans entered in to the newly created Weimer Republic and were faced with the problems of unemployment, poverty and great difference between the haves and have-nots. The essence of the essay is to discuss the major theme, how it’s presented in the film and the reasons for the historical/ cultures values presented in them film.

After the First World War, though the Germans are defeated they remained defiant after the war and are being humiliated by the unjust treaties. . The writer/ director expose the anger and a rabid young man whose prejudice and passion led to death of millions of Jews. Max, a Jewish that was initially a painter and lost his arm in the war then became an art dealer in Munich streets where eventually he meets Hitler, a war veteran, who is penniless and further confused between joining the politics and or the artistic desires, they become close friends since their future had been shattered by the war.

Max tries to guide Hitler in to successful artistic business, on the other hand, Hitler has another Mentor, Captain Myer, who acknowledges that Hitler has another potential in the politics. There is a struggle between the two mentors and eventually Myer wins and directs Hitler in to politics. The discussions between Max and Hitler clearly show how connected were the politics and art in Germany at that particular time, they further display how the art could the future Germany for better.

One of the historical event presented in the movies though the major theme is the trearty of Versailles. After the war, the treaty of Versailles is a major concern to many Germans; Myer therefore formed a class which he used to teach propaganda against the Jews. Max tries to divert Hitler’s anger in to art but he does have the idea of how deep is Hitler’s anger, Max further tells Hitler that if could “pent up the stuff” within him on the canvas, them many possibilities would unfold Innocent Max at one point of moment tells his children about the Jewish world turning upside down in a couple of decades and after an Anti Semitic presentation which angers Hitler and eventually scribbles on his hand that “politics + arts = power”, where by the people will be the canvas and the politics will be his art.  All these are used to support the major them of the film. This film teaches the evolution of a culture that resulted to horrors of the Nazi leading to the cold war.

There are some flaws in the film where by it concentrates too much on Max’s life’ despite good performances by actors like Cusack. Though good, the cinematography and direction does not also display Germany as it would have been  after the First world war but Germany is displayed like it is in the 20th century therefore the discussions between Max and Hitler aren’t in a historical context. Irrespective of the strong connection between politic and art, the idea of Hitler beginning from the road as an art dealer to the man we acknowledge as Hitler is a bit naïve and too simple and further tries to humanize Hitler despite never excusing his actions occasionally. Hitler though maintained a moustache after the war is presented being clean shaved in the film.

Max is a fiction story of one early man who was very evil and the circumstances that led to his evil behavior; it further explains why the German nationalism after the WW1 resulted to genocide and violence.

REFRENCE

Max (2002/I), retrieved on 20th, October, 2007, available at

www.imdb.com/title/tt0290210/