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Night and Fog is a documentary that chronicles many of the events that happened at Nazi concentration camps during The Holocaust. Starting with the rise of Nazi ideology, the documentary offers details of how Jewish people were transported and led into camps, how they carried on their daily lives while imprisoned, and how they were treated, tortured, tested on, and eventually executed.
It is hard to write about this documentary from a filmmaking standpoint and not detour into the events it portrays. Resnais intercalates "modern" footage of the ruins of camps like Auschwitz and Majdanek, with stock footage taken during the Holocaust. The narration by Michel Bouquet offers a somber and melancholic account of the events. It is indeed a neatly constructed documentary.
But it is hard to write about this documentary and not detour into what it portrays. I consider myself a World War II buff, and I've seen dozens of photographs, videos, and documentaries about it and the Holocaust. Some are seen here, some are not. But even with those that I've seen, it never fails to crush my soul to see the utter disregard of humanity by those that perpetrated these crimes.
It's hard to imagine how something as horrible as this could be conceived, thought of, planned, put in motion, and carried on for years. It's hard to think how one would react if faced with these atrocities; to know that death can creep up in the darkness of night and responsibilities hidden under the cover of fog.
Grade:
NIGHT AND FOG
(1956, Resnais)
A film that starts with the letters M or N • A film from the TSPDT 1,000 Greatest Films list whose ranking includes the #7 (#187)
(1956, Resnais)
A film that starts with the letters M or N • A film from the TSPDT 1,000 Greatest Films list whose ranking includes the #7 (#187)
"Death makes its first choice. The second one is made on arrival in night and fog."
Night and Fog is a documentary that chronicles many of the events that happened at Nazi concentration camps during The Holocaust. Starting with the rise of Nazi ideology, the documentary offers details of how Jewish people were transported and led into camps, how they carried on their daily lives while imprisoned, and how they were treated, tortured, tested on, and eventually executed.
It is hard to write about this documentary from a filmmaking standpoint and not detour into the events it portrays. Resnais intercalates "modern" footage of the ruins of camps like Auschwitz and Majdanek, with stock footage taken during the Holocaust. The narration by Michel Bouquet offers a somber and melancholic account of the events. It is indeed a neatly constructed documentary.
But it is hard to write about this documentary and not detour into what it portrays. I consider myself a World War II buff, and I've seen dozens of photographs, videos, and documentaries about it and the Holocaust. Some are seen here, some are not. But even with those that I've seen, it never fails to crush my soul to see the utter disregard of humanity by those that perpetrated these crimes.
It's hard to imagine how something as horrible as this could be conceived, thought of, planned, put in motion, and carried on for years. It's hard to think how one would react if faced with these atrocities; to know that death can creep up in the darkness of night and responsibilities hidden under the cover of fog.
Grade: