Film Review: In The Fade Shows Nazis Are Making A Dangerous Comeback
Synopsis: Tattooed, street-smart Katja, her ex-con Kurdish-German husband Nuri, and their young bespectacled violin-playing son Rocco might seem at first glance like an atypical family, but in a few short scenes we come to understand the messy and beautiful reality of their life. So when sudden tragedy strikes in theform of a bombing, the impact is all the more profound. Katja now finds herself alone, facing grief and menacing probing from authorities and family alike. Seeking relief, she turns to drugs and the thought of what her husband might do in her place. Wrestling between fragile moments of self-destruction and those of unwavering commitment to avenging the death of her family, Katja’s love for Nuri and Rocco is never far away – and neither is her pain.
When you think of holiday times, you might think “holly jolly” films like The Greatest Showman and The Shape of Water. Yet, In The Fade is anything but jolly. On the contrary, this film is a confrontation towards something we rarely discuss, but is dangerously on the rise: hate crimes. Yes, In The Fade is being released on December 27, just in time, for you to remember love is needed more than ever for next year.
Celebrated Turkish-German filmmaker Fatih Akin has created a thriller that is wrought with social importance. Led by Diane Kruger’s Katja, you follow Kruger through her emotional highs and lows of knowing her entire family was killed because they were “Muslim”, and that very fact will block her from receiving justice. Now, when I tell you her family is Muslim, i.e. her beloved husband Nuri and son, Rocco, who do you picture as the murderer? What if I told you that Nuri has a criminal history, but he reformed himself as an insurance salesmen/ esteemed member of his Turkish community in their German town? Do these facts affect how you envision his murderer or the levels of justice that should be brought towards his murder? Killed by a pair of Neo-Nazis, Edda and Andre Moller, Akin shows that white supremacy is very much alive, especially, in the country that most bore this horrifying notion: Germany. The idea of Nazis in Germany is cringe-worthy, and, certainly, one relevant to America’s current state/ own rise of Nazism/ hate. Yet, Akin also shows the difficulties of seeing white supremacy as terrorism, and, thus, treating it as such.
An ideology is an ideology: period! White supremacy IS an ideology, and it has motivated the most heinous and hateful groups/ acts, i.e. Nazis. Yet, as Katja tries to get justice for her family’s brutal murder, suddenly, this “way of thought” is treated as nuanced and one to not so eagerly pin as wicked. In The Fade thrills, in particular, with its court scenes and the lonely close-ups of Katja trying to bear this unbearable pain that, again, will not gain justice. As you watch the court dismiss and weakly “disprove” the Mollers as killers, Kruger deserves an Oscar for portraying the ripe blend of strength and utter brokenness that is Katja. I have often said that resilience is a very weakening feeling. No one feels great when they are being brave or happy to be strong because these feeling require you to confront fear and hurt. Thus, Kruger ability to balance fragility with fearlessness especially, with themes such as redemption, self-hate, and revenge, makes you feel like you could follow Katja to hell. In a way, you kind of do. In The Fade Is In Theatres on December 27.
