THE STORY – A captivating insight into the private estate of Leni Riefenstahl, who became world-famous with her Nazi propaganda film “Triumph of the Will” but kept denying any closer ties to the regime.
THE CAST – Leni Riefenstahl
THE TEAM – Andres Veiel (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 115 Minutes
Whether you’re familiar with German director and actress Leni Riefenstahl or not, the images she captured of Nazi Germany through her propaganda films “Triumph of the Will” and “Olympia” have become infamous for glamorizing the Nazi’s rise to power. A foreboding montage of clips from those films is exactly how director Andres Veiel sets the tone for his enlightening documentary, “Riefenstahl.” Scenes from both events, the former at the 1934 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg and the latter documenting the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, convey a strong, united German front and fanfare for its rising leader Adolf Hitler.
The images make one think the person behind the camera was a fan of it all. However, as World War II took shape and the atrocities of the Holocaust were uncovered, the controversial German director staunchly denied any knowledge of what was unfolding in her country or any close ties to party leaders. Could that be possible? Veiel says otherwise.
Following the death of Riefenstahl’s partner in 2016, Veiel got his hands on a treasure trove of private photographs, letters, unseen footage from interviews, and her own work. What it led to is “Riefenstahl,” a fascinating exposé on the German director who denied for years that she had any deep knowledge of the Nazis’ atrocities. She may have tried to assert her innocence through the years, but there is no hiding now with this documentary.
Riefenstahl, always ambitious and after praise, built up her film career in the 1920s, working with director Arnold Fanck, a pioneer of the mountain film genre. She later stepped behind the camera with her directorial debut, “The Blue Light,” gaining attention not just as one of few women directors in Germany but, as heard in past interviews, becoming an idol among Nazis for her fearlessness and innovation in film. She also found an idol in the Nazi Party herself.
Hearing Riefenstahl describe the first time she heard Hitler speak – that she was trembling, had sweaty hands, and felt as though she was captured by a magnetic force – shows early on that she cannot be trusted in the interviews when she later claims she didn’t have much interest in the events she was capturing. She claims in several interviews, including one tense talk show appearance in 1976, that no one would have refused to make “Triumph of the Will” if they were commissioned by Hitler to do it. Maybe she’s right about that, given the growing force he was exerting on the country at the time. But then we see her eagerly talk about how she captured the synchronicity of Nazi soldiers during the Nuremberg rally (the black and white footage from “Triumph of the Will” looks so clear and vivid throughout the documentary) and even smiling and humming along to the march. It appears that it didn’t take much convincing to get her on board with the project. Later, Veiel lingers on a photo of her smiling and holding hands with Hitler, which is enough to send shivers up one’s spine.
With so many documents available, “Riefenstahl” is an impressive undertaking for Veiel and editors Stephan Krumbiegel and Olaf Voigtländer. Photographs, old interviews, letters, film footage, private cassette tapes, and more cover almost all of Riefenstahl’s 101 years of life. The film touches not only on her work but also on her troubled relationship with her father, her mother’s high hopes, and her relationships with men. It’s here, too, where more of her denials come into play, especially with Joseph Goebbels, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party. In an unreleased segment from Ray Müller’s 1993 documentary “The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl,” Riefenstahl accidentally revealed that she had affairs with Goebbels, which the interviewer caught. Restarting the conversation seconds later, the interviewer states that she was friendly with Goebbels, and Riefenstahl explodes at them for ever saying such a thing. After a certain point, you just have to shake your head at Restarting’s inability to admit to her atrocious actions. Even when direct quotes are read to her from letters or books, she does not want to hear them and instead states that she’s being made a target. The parallels to America’s current political situation, with one candidate repeating that they’ve been made the target of a witch hunt, are as clear as day.
One has to wonder why she wanted to prove her innocence. Given that she died more than 20 years ago, that explanation was bound to be missing from the film. It didn’t seem like she cared much for journalists, let alone what they were writing about her, and countless people called and wrote her letters of support. So, why not own up to any of it? Maybe she thought she didn’t do anything wrong because she, personally, wasn’t a Nazi soldier who directly carried out executions (she just filmed them). Maybe it was her own defenses acting up, knowing that she was in the wrong for having any part of the regime, but she could never fully admit it to herself, let alone others. She was eventually arrested and labeled a Nazi sympathizer after the war but was not charged with any war crimes. After all of that, one would think there would be a time when even she would have to give up the act and confess to any guilt, but that satisfying conclusion never comes.
Perhaps the most egregious moment from her past is when she’s commissioned to make a film in Poland, where she’s confronted with the realities of war. It is stated that she witnessed the shooting of 22 Jewish individuals, and more than that, a letter alleges that a set direction she gave led to the killing of those people. Of course, as seen time and time again, Riefenstahl denies any part of it, even though photos exist of that exact moment, which shows her crying at the scene in front of her. Her last film for the regime, “Lowlands,” utilized 50 Sinti and Roma people who were gathered from an internment camp. They ultimately were taken to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where they died, but Riefenstahl insisted that she met with them after the war and they were alive and well. How could someone lose their humanity so much?
As “Riefenstahl” reaches its end, it shows that its star never grappled with any of her actions. As she spent time in Sudan photographing the Nuba people, she never stepped away from the lens to examine the situation she was in, just like she did with her propaganda films. She tosses food crumbs to people around her, almost as if she enjoys seeing them fight each other and clamor around her for something to eat, all while she has a smile on her face. Riefenstahl also spent much time writing her memoirs, trying to control her image and the legacy she’d leave behind. The final moments of the documentary show scenes of her returning to the waterfalls and mountains she captured in “The Blue Light,” what she wanted to be remembered by, but Veiel plays one last damning recording of her discussing how chaotic the times have become in Germany. She may have tried to plead her innocence, but “Riefenstahl” rightfully uncovers all the dangerous truths behind this woman that the world will never forget.
