Farris: Good

The title “Good” is appropriate for this movie because it portrays the story of one good-hearted man who becomes unintentionally wrapped up with Nazi happenings. It proves the point that good people are often steered in the wrong direction, in this case due to the fear of what the consequences would have been for speaking out openly against the Nazi regime. Professor John Halder, as portrayed by Viggo Mortensen, always put others before himself: he looks after his dimensia-stricken mother, and sticks by an eccentric, uninterested wife for the sake of his children. Halder’s book about euthanasia is made into a propaganda film by the Nazi Party promoting the eugenics program, which earns him an honorary Nazi title that he doesn’t take too seriously at first. His best friend Maurice, a Jewish psychiatrist, warns him about becoming involved with such tyrants, to which Halder disregards by saying, “They like to have a few academics around to give them the veneer of sophistication.” This opinion soon changes though, as Halder becomes power hungry and rises up in the Nazi world; he even begins wearing a Nazi uniform. Becoming associated with the Party is the first of many small decisions that Halder makes that leads to the devastating finale of the movie in which he sees an emaciated Maurice in a concentration camp.

This movie’s goal is to make people think about how they would react when put in such a situation: when what you know is right is against the popular belief of an entire nation.

The image presented is important because it suggests a message about people not truly being who they appear. This is done through the use of contrasting color values. John Halder is dressed in black, a color of evil, although we learn throughout the movie that deep down he was “good” person, and didn’t intend to become affiliated with Hitler’s regime. Anne Hartmann on the other hand is dressed in white, a color of pureness and innocence, when really she is an evil Nazi sympathizer.

The reason I think this film wasn’t released in the US is because of it’s unique message about not all Nazis being downright evil. I don’t think this idea would sit well with American audiences, who prefer to view Nazis in a much more devilish light.