Oria, Good

First off, Good was an amazing movie. Other then this being a good movie, there is not much good in it. It was set in Germany during the beginning of the Holocaust and the war. The whole movie focuses on what it meant to be a good person and what occurred during this time to many German Jews and non-Jews. I believe that the title was based on the many “good” people that were affected during this time period. A lot of good men and women were killed because of their race or religion, one of them being Maurice. He was a good person and a good German. He was born and raised there and he even fought for his county in previous wars. Yet he was still taken to the concentration camp to be slaughtered off with millions of other good people. So it did not really matter whether you were a good person or not, all that mattered was creating a solely Arian race. The title also reflects those who were not Jewish and lived in Germany, mainly the main character, Professor John Halder. From the start of the movie it is obvious that he is a good man. It seems like he has good morals and cares for his wife, kids, friends, and even his mother who with from dementia. He is faced with the difficult task of deciding whether he should stick up for what is right or to stay on the sidelines and do nothing to help. He is fighting an internal battle with himself. He has good intentions and would like to help but I believe he is either too scared to act on any of them. He fears that he will be penalized for aiding the Jews. It also seems like he is suffering from the bystander effect. Throughout the movie whenever Maurice would come and ask him for help, he would just tell him, “wait until things blow over,” thinking that someone else would come and save them. Helen his wife that he separates with in the movie said to John, “you always make the right decision.” Which clearly is not the case because he made the wrong choice almost every time. John stuck with what was convenient and easier.

The picture of John and Anne at the party shows them all dressed up and perfect. They are not who they appear to be. They appear to be the perfect couple and to be very good. When in reality, John has just left his wife for Anne after having an affair with her and joined the Nazi party. If you look, John is dressed all in black and Anne in white. You would assume that this would show how John is evil and Anne is good, when in reality it ends up being the opposite. John is actually a good person just covered by evil, (the black tux). Anne seems to be perfect and a good Arian wife on the outside (white dress) but is truly evil on the inside and a true believer of the Nazi party.

I have no idea as to why it was not distributed in the United States other then maybe the film would cause a lot of controversy. The movie suggests that some of the Nazis were actually just good people forced into killing the Jews. I do not think that many Americans would agree with this. They might argue that there were ways of getting around becoming a Nazi.

I feel like this song is relevant to the movie and what was happening. It talks about how when something bad happens, all of the "good" people are often no where to be found.