This week, the Arthouse Film Festival showed us the documentary My Nazi Legacy: What Our Fathers Did. Philippe Sands, a European Lawyer, became acquainted with a German man, Niklas Frank. Niklas was born in 1939, and was the son of Hans Frank, a lawyer for Nazi Germany during World War II. Niklas, in turn, was also friends with Horst Wächter, also born in 1939, and was the son of Otto Wächter, who was also a lawyer for the Third Reich.

The documentary opens with Horst giving Philippe a tour of the home he grew up in. He talks about his father, who he rarely saw. Horst then shows several photo albums, indicating that Otto was a high ranking member of the Nazi Party, and there are photos of him in uniform with many others. Horst laments that he never really spent time with his father, as he was so young and his father was a busy man.

Meanwhile, Niklas similarly tells of his childhood. His life was different, and quite privileged. Their family moved to Poland after the start of World War II. Hans was given the rank of Governor-General of one of Poland’s territories. Niklas was raised by a nanny and his mother had very little to do with his upbringing. His father wanted to divorce his mother, but she wrote to Hitler, who ordered they stay married.

During the war, Frank was directly involved in the extinction of many Jews and others, as well as keeping the remainder of the Polish population under control. Otto Wächter worked with him as an administrator. He was the governor of Krakow, but then became the governor of Galacia in the Ukraine. It is known that he organized the ghettos where Jews and others were kept. After the war, Frank was captured by the allies, tried at Nuremberg, and executed. Wächter hid in the Salzberg mountains, eventually sought sanctuary in the Catholic church in Rome, where he lived until his passing in 1949.

All of this is known history. Philippe lets on that all of his family, save one person (his grandfather), was killed as a result of the actions of the Nazis in Poland, and specifically, Hans Frank. Niklas freely admits that his father is guilty of crimes against humanity. Horst, on the other hand, does not accept that his father had any direct involvement with the Holocaust. The evidence is all circumstantial, in Horst’s eyes, and there is no specific proof his father was the cause of any atrocities.

The rest of the documentary is spent digging in further into that history. Niklas and Frank are guests at a talk in England, with Philippe acting as host and moderator. Later they visit Poland, and later, the Ukraine. This movie is heartbreaking. Horst steadfastly believes his father is innocent, while Niklas and Philippe present evidence that would suggest otherwise.

This documentary is not something that I can say I liked or disliked. It relived some very ugly truths that many will find distressing. I know it did that, for me. The documentary does attempt to correlate the events of World War II to modern ones. As this film was being made, Russia had already invaded Ukraine, so there is a timeliness to it. I don’t believe that part of this documentary was properly fleshed out, but the connections were made.

Our Brand is Crisis is the latest movie starring Sandra Bullock. She and George Clooney are producers for this movie. I’m told both had been considered for the lead, but Sandra was the one to do it. This is a fictionalized version of the documentary of the same name. It does not resemble the original story, except maybe on a basic level.

Sandra Bullock stars as Jane Bodine, a political strategist who has retired from the ‘game’. When she was ‘on’, she was a miracle worker, able to revive the campaigns of several candidates (in the U.S.) who wouldn’t have stood a chance if not for her skills. Unfortunately, after a string of failed bids for election, she was given the nickname ‘Calamity Jane’, and so she gave up, and went into seclusion.

The film starts with two strategists approaching her to help run the campaign of a presidential candidate in Bolivia. Senator Castillo (Joaquim de Almeida) was previously president, but decided to privatize some of the country’s industry and resources, leaving a bad taste in the country’s mouth. The country’s in turmoil. He’s attempting to regain the position, but his campaign is rather simple and ineffectual. The polls place him at less than 10% approval, with several other candidates polling at much higher numbers.

Jane is a bit unsure about the situation. It hasn’t helped that she’s affected by altitude sickness. Jane is thrown a curve ball, in that the most popular candidate’s campaign is being managed by an old rival, Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton), who just so happens to be the one that she lost to, all those previous times. This inspires her to dive in and rediscover her mojo. She realizes that the ‘story’ about Castillo has to change. They need to shift the focus of the campaign to one of declaring the current political atmosphere to be one of ‘crisis’, where the future is uncertain, and a strong hand is what’s needed to get the country back on track. She intends to make Castillo the right person for the job.

Pat has other plans. He and Jane spar verbally, and that gives each other ideas. Jane intends to go negative, but Castillo is against it. She brings in a dirt-digger, and sets her to task. Meanwhile, people are saying that Castillo is disconnected from the common people. Jane realizes that after giving a ride to one of the campaign volunteers, Eddie (Reynaldo Pacheco) and visiting his home. This causes a shift in the strategy that drives them towards the election itself. There is a bit of bickering between Pat and Jane. The election occurs, of course, and the outcome ends with a little epilogue that you wouldn’t necessarily see in such a movie.

I’m on the fence with the film. I enjoyed it, but I’ll have to admit I’m a sucker for anything Sandra Bullock is in. This is best described as a black comedy. There are humorous moments, but this is first and foremost a drama. The story is good, but not great. There were a couple of flaws that I won’t spoil, but they’re not major faults.

I personally liked the film, but I can’t say that everyone will enjoy it.