Films based on real events are always of great interest, and historical films are given a special stamp – responsibility for authenticity. The picture “Nuremberg” is one of these, so it is of great interest to critics and viewers, who were looking forward to its appearance on the screens. The film is based on the book by Alexander Zvyagintsev “Forever and ever”, which tells about the trial of Nazi criminals in the city of Nuremberg.
The film was released on March 2 this year, director Nikolai Lebedev and a brilliant cast took part in the work on it: Lyubov Aksenova, Sergey Kempo, Sergey Bezrukov, Evgeny Mironov, Igor Petrenko, Alexei Bardukov and others. Filming of Nuremberg was planned to begin in 2018, but was stopped due to the coronavirus epidemic. The Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Vladimir Medinsky announced the painting for the 75th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War.
Producer Elmira Ainulova noted that the film will use historical facts and archival materials previously inaccessible to the public, which will help popularize the objectivity of historical knowledge. This is not surprising, because the Nuremberg trials are one of the most politicized in history, so there are many myths around it, which the director’s team undertook to debunk.
What does the picture tell
The story of the Nuremberg Trials is presented in an extraordinary way. The viewer sees events through the prism of personal tragedy. Igor Volgin, a scout-translator, a participant in the storming of Berlin, receives letters from his brother addressed to their mother, who died during the blockade of Leningrad. Nikolai Volgin is an artist, he was considered missing since 1942. The appearance of the envelope three years after the disappearance of his brother surprised Igor unspeakably, because the place of departure was Nuremberg, located in the American zone of occupation of Germany. In order to find the truth and meet his brother, Igor needs to get to the Trial of the Century, and he, as part of a group of translators, goes to Nuremberg. The whole world is riveted with its attention to what will happen at the judgment.
The Nuremberg trials are the world famous trial of Nazi war criminals. It became a fair end to the war that the fascist states unleashed against peaceful countries. After the creation of the United Nations, the victorious countries are determined to judge the instigators of this terrible world tragedy. But the fascist underground was not completely destroyed. Some of those Nazis who managed to escape tried to interfere with the trial in Nuremberg.
The Russian girl Lena, who was taken to work in Germany during the war, was one of those who were recruited by the Nazis to work underground. It is she who gets acquainted with Igor, who not only translates during the meetings, but also works with German archival documents and even participates in the delivery to the court of Friedrich Paulus, the German military commander, Field Marshal and one of the authors of the Barbarossa plan. The seizure of the archive and the transportation of Paulus were almost thwarted because of the “rat” among the Soviet delegates.
The leader of the underground, Helmut, tried to free the defendants, and, in extreme cases, kill them so that classified information would not get into the masses. Lena, Helmut’s agent, accidentally meets Igor Volgin on the streets of the city. She fell in love with Volgin, and warned Igor about the impending danger. Her help was invaluable – the prisoners who planned to escape from American captivity could not carry out their plan and justice prevailed. Against the backdrop of a love line, action fans will be fully satisfied with shots of shootings, chases and a detective line.
Keeps in suspense and the judicial line. Each of the parties is very actively defending its rightness. We see mountains of documents, hemmed volumes that will lie tightly in the archives, but behind each of these documents is the fate of a person. Any wording can become both an accusation and a salvation. The process involves all parties, interested parties are especially active, eliminating witnesses, bribing speakers. This is illustrated by excellent accents – the drawing of frescoes, unfinished paintings, a man without a face. The doves of peace take off touchingly, symbolizing the hope for a righteous judgment, while we see clouds of smoke that immediately close the frames from the viewer, like historical secrets.
Director’s idea: the meaning of the film “Nuremberg”
The idea of the film “Nuremberg” was epoch-making. The producer and director set themselves really important goals, but they were only partially met. The name of the picture only partly hints at the trial itself, since a significant part in the picture is occupied by a love line, exposure of the gang and near-judicial cases, and the tribunal itself is assigned a symbolic meaning rather than a decisive one. Needless to say, this picture has become weaker? Definitely not!
Director Nikolai Lebedev very subtly approached the plot, showing the fate of a Russian girl who remained faithful to her country against the background of historical frames and interweaving. Lebedev shows that Lena’s love wakes up not only for a man. She saves their future together with Igor, but love for the motherland wakes up at the same time, and the girl takes a decisive step. Lena, having the necessary information, passes it on to Igor, once again showing that blood is not water. Even her stay in the fascist underground could not change the girl, she remained a patriot of her homeland. Nikolai Lebedev managed to show historical parallels – a global trial of world criminals and a personal trial that did not bypass a single person who survived this terrible tragedy.
Definitely, the film is worth watching not only for fans of historical films, but also for ordinary viewers, and this must be done with the younger generation. What are the speeches of Sergei Bezrukov, denouncing the Nazis in bloody crimes against humanity. Against this background, the pitiful excuses of the perpetrators sound, which are immediately destroyed by the most cruel shots of their monstrous crimes. Nikolai Lebedev played excellently in the contrast of the two sides.
Nuremberg shows not only the story of Igor and Lena, but also how important it was to complete a just cause – it was for the Soviet Union to condemn the Nazis. Even being in the dock, the Nazis could get out in order to avoid punishment, but the sword raised by the prosecutor unequivocally decides the fate of the instigators – they are guilty. Talented footage will help shed light on the pages of history and instill patriotism among the younger generation. After all, the end of the Process of the Century does not mean that the ideology has disappeared – there are also hints of this in the picture. Fascism can disguise itself, acquire new names and forms, but its end is always the same – failure.
How did the picture end
After the process, Elena and Igor returned to civilian life, they adopted a girl who was able to find the grave of Nicholas near Nuremberg. The end of the picture is dedicated to the chronicle – historical frames that give one hundred percent immersion in reality. After watching the main time of the picture, such an ending is the best way to feel the involvement in the common history and learn the most important lessons – any war will end in punishment and not a single criminal will escape justice.
