Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace
Eric Till
2000, 88 mins.
If we listen to more Beethoven, the world will be a better and more peaceful place.
How entirely ironic that I stumbled across Till’s 2000 production (while in pursuit of the 2024 version—stand by—cross reference below), that seems so apropos of the U.S. election where war mongering (within the Land of the Home and the Free) Donald Trump is trying (Against all odds? Perhaps not), to become people with more money than brains in answer to Adolf Hitler (more brains for sure, but both decidedly unhinged).
In the title role as pastor with a conscience beyond the cloth, Ulrich Tukur gives an impassioned, gritty performance as one of many “decent” German citizens who feel that the only way forward is the assassination of the Fuhrer. Urged on by Hans (Ulrich Noethen gamely putting country ahead of party) the reluctant vicar opts to put some scruples aside in defence of the greater good.
Their nemesis comes in the evil form of Manfred Roeder (done up with appropriate menace and unflinching devotion to duty by Robert Hoy). The frequent interrogation scenes between captor and captive (even a pastor can’t escape the long arm of misinformed law) are definite highlights from the narrative (a true story amplified by Till and Gareth Jones).
As the sudden love interest (well, there’s a war on), 17-year-old Maria (portrayed with persuasive charm by Maria von Wedemeyer) adds welcome relief from the misery that surrounds them all.
From the music side of things, Bonhoeffer displays a not inconsiderable talent at the keyboard (adding another layer of humanity to his character), a searing cello provides a few measures of pathos, yet the frequent orchestral interventions from Beethoven yields mixed reactions: on the one hand, it goes without saying that the repulsive dictators then and now could most certainly benefit from what true human expression is all about, but underscoring the atrocities (on both sides, as is the case of all armed conflicts) denigrates the master’s true intentions of wanting to share his marvellous art with all of those who care to listen—either on one side or the other. JWR
Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink
Rick Goldsmith
2024, 100 mins.
As vultures circle the [insert your own daily newspaper here], they must be saved from unabashed looting and greed
In the aftermath of last week’s U.S. election (and the astonishment of both the publishers of The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times blocking endorsements for Kamala Harris), Goldsmith’s (along with co-writer Michael Chandler) tale of hedge fund Alden Global purposely buying up “distressed” (most of them not figuring out how to change the usual business model of advertisements fuelling the revenue, even as outlets such as Google, Facebook, etc. sucked up limited dollars due to their exponentially large audience reach) daily newspapers then selling their valuable real estate and laying off staff made millions upon millions for secretive businessmen (Randall Smith, Heath Freeman—who had no interest at all in journalism), could not have arrived at a more timely moment—especially useful in explaining Trump’s unexpected victory (the polls were always a tossup, according to the press…).
But Michael Tomasky (a writer at The New Republic) further proved the dangers forecast by Goldsmith with this spot-on observation:
The answer is the right-wing media. Today, the right-wing media—Fox News (and the entire News Corp.), Newsmax, One America News Network, the Sinclair network of radio and TV stations and newspapers, iHeart Media (formerly Clear Channel), the Bott Radio Network (Christian radio), Elon Musk’s X, the huge podcasts like Joe Rogan’s, and much more—sets the news agenda in this country. And they fed their audiences a diet of slanted and distorted information that made it possible for Trump to win.
Likewise to Alden, their owners are more interested in profits and power by filling their vast audiences with a smorgasbord of untruths, lies and red herrings (please pass a plate of pets for Springfield’s Haitians to chow down on!) that is only made possible by concentrated ownership—perfectly oblivious to the public’s interests, only their own.
Much of the film has to do with The Denver Post (editor Greg Moore in the early going). As happened time after time, the staff are dedicated journalists trying to accurately bring the news of the day to readers. Despite winning Pulitzer prizes (notably regarding the 2013 Aurora movie theatre slaughter), the “numbers weren’t good enough” so layoffs abounded. Clearly excellence in journalism is not nearly as valued as ad revenue… Seeing no way out, Moore resigned in 2016.
What’s a news staff to do?
If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. And thus the digital-only news gatherers (e.g., The Colorado Sun and the Baltimore Banner—still active as of this writing) were born.
The film also offers a couple of “History Lessons”, reminding one and all that, for example, in 1855 the birth of The New York Herald ushered in untold wealth for its visionaries not because of content, but due to postal subsidies ensuring a wide audience (almost exclusively white) feasting on page after page of advertisements. But once the ubiquitousness of the internet was secured, paper after paper slipped into distressed property status making themselves ready targets for the likes of Alden Global.
How curious, then in 2024, a pair of previously respected news purveyors (The Washington Post – Jeff Bezos; X – formerly Twitter, Elon Musk) have more become roadblocks than advocates for free speech and the freedom of the press.
Goldsmith makes all of these points and more, but, like the election results, will leave most thinking people more worried than enthused about the informational road ahead. JWR
Experiment
James Wegg
2024
To gauge the level of discontent, I posted this on the JWR webpage:
While I typically get a few dozen reactions to my reviews, Quote of the Month, etc., this one (boosted by just $25 to the US), went through the roof.
Haha – 525
Like – 384
Tears – 241
Angry – 39
Hearts – 7
(and counting)
And lots of comments:
“Do i [sic] hear a whiner? LOL”
“That's how many of us felt four years ago. We tried to tell you Biden was incompetent, but you wouldn't listen.”
“And now it’s time for a whole bunch of left-wing commie traitors to our nation to be indicted and to jail with them.”
“HAHAHA! I LOVE WATCHING WHEN AMERICA MAKES DUMB MISTAKES”
“It’s stunning at the number of middle class workers would vote for Trump, they voted against their own best interest.”
But now comes the test. With the USA pretty much equally divided, how/when might the healing begin?
No worries. I will keep all of these messages and reply more thoroughly after the 2026 mid-terms. JWR