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January 17, 2003
Fact and fiction in Max
Menno Meyjes tells his version of the growth of evil.
KYLE BERGER REPORTER
Screenwriter Menno Meyjes travels a fine line between fact and
fiction throughout much of his directorial debut, Max.
While the characters in the film about Adolf Hitler's pre-Second
World War move into politics were based on facts that Meyjes had
researched, Max is a fictional story that ultimately speculates
on the events surrounding the birth of the most sinister political
career in the 20th century.
Set in 1918 Munich, as the weakened German government is on the
verge of accepting the Versailles peace treaty, a Jewish war veteran
by the name of Max Rothman (John Cusack) has just opened a new gallery
for modern art. When Rothman meets another veteran, Adolf Hitler
(Noah Taylor), who was also an aspiring painter, a unique relationship
develops.
Rothman, whose character, according to Meyjes, represents the many
Jewish art dealers who tried to sell Hitler's art, and Hitler can
relate to each other's experiences fighting for Germany in the First
World War (Rothman lost his right arm). However, their lives and
personalities are distinct opposites. Rothman returned from the
war to a wife, two children and a full bank account, while Hitler
was left homeless with no friends, no family and nothing but pent-up
anger and his raw artistic and political beliefs.
The majority of Max focuses on Hitler's battles with his
own demons as he desperately strives to be rewarded for the genius
he believes himself to be. When he's not finding success in art,
he tries his hand in politics. Whichever lifestyle stroked his ego
the most would ultimately win him over.
In Meyjes' version of the story, Hitler becomes convinced that politics
is "the new art" and he uses his talents in the form of
anti-Semitic rants that eventually gain increasing support. What
we never see, however, is why Hitler has fastened himself on the
issue of what he calls "the Jewish question." He seems
to have come back from the war with this obsession that would characterize
his whole life. It's his passion for this particular issue that
makes him a convincing orator, rather than the issue itself, about
which most of his contemporaries don't seem to care at first.
While the radically animalistic and temperamental Hitler, as portrayed
by Taylor, may seem a little over neurotic, it can only be assumed
that the varied research Meyjes did on the historical figure led
to an accurate portrayal of the writer's discoveries.
History tells us that Hitler was not likely to have ever become
a successful artist (he had been denied entry to the Vienna Art
Academy as an 18-year-old), while Meyjes' interpretation suggests
that a more positive relationship with Rothman might have fuelled
Hitler's passion for art rather than his hatred for the Jewish people.
In one scene, as the two unlikely acquaintances share a drink, Rothman
questions Hitler's apparent anti-Semitic views. Hitler responds
by saying that he actually admires the Jews, claiming that they
were intelligent for "guarding the purity of their blood."
Rothman then points out his own addictions to smoking, drinking
and women as examples of how the idea that the Jews were of pure
blood was ridiculous.
Max also features a handful of scenes that present a pre-Nazi
world that would likely stretch the imaginations of movie-goers
of the 21st century. For example, it is not often that one would
consider that a wealthy Jew might have once felt enough pity for
the architect of the Holocaust to utter the words, "Hitler,
come on. I'll buy you a glass of lemonade."
The film finishes with a twist that, while not completely unpredictable,
avoids making any suggestions that the tracks of fate could have
been redirected by any one person's influence. History suggests
that Hitler probably would have found his voice through politics
regardless of who came along.
Also starring Molly Parker and Leelee Sobieski, Max opens
Jan. 17 at Tinseltown.
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