Taking Sides (2003) Movie Information:

Taking Sides (2003) Directed by: Istvan Szabo Taking Sides (2003) Written by: Ronald Harwood Taking Sides (2003) Cast: Harvey Keitel, Stellan Skarsgard, Moritz Bleibtreu, Birgit Minichmayr, Oleg Tabakov, Ulrich Tukur, Hanns Zischler, August Zirner, Robin Renucci, Frank Leboeuf

Taking Sides (2003) U.S. Distributor: New Yorker Films Taking Sides (2003) U.K. Distributor: Not available at this time

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Taking Sides (2003) Synopsis:

A tale based on the life of Wilhelm Furtwangler, the controversial conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic whose tenure coincided with the controversial Nazi era. One of the most spectacular and renowned conductors of the 30s, Furtwangler's reputation rivaled that of Toscanini's. After the war, he was investigated as part of the Allies' de-Nazification programme. In the bombed-out Berlin of the immediate post-war period, the Allies slowly bring law and order--and justice--to bear on an occupied Germany. An American major is given the Furtwangler file, and is told to find everything he can and to prosecute the man ruthlessly. Tough and hard-nosed, Major Steve Arnold sets out to investigate a world of which he knows nothing. Orchestra members vouch for Furtwangler's morality--he did what he could to protect Jewish players from his orchestra. To the Germans, deeply respectful of their musical heritage, Furtwangler is a demigod; however, to Major Arnold, he is just a lying, weak-willed Nazi.

Taking Sides (2003) Movie Review:

Acclaimed Hungarian director Szabo brings out the strong story in this adaptation of Harwood's play, based on true events from post-WWII Berlin. Yet while it's full of important issues, the film is a bit too stilted to really grab us.

It's 1946 and Major Steve Arnold (Keitel) is ordered to prove that world-famous conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler (Skarsgard) was an integral part of the Nazi war machine. But this is no easy job, since Furtwangler's entire orchestra vouches for his anti-Hitler sentiments. Still, Arnold goes after him with every bit of evidence he has, relying on the help of his Jewish-German-American assistant (Bliebtreu) and his secretary (Minichmayr), both of whom have many more reservations about the case.

Widened out of the interrogation room visually but not thematically, this is a claustrophobic film that goes from one confrontation to the next as incredibly strong words are exchanged, important ideas are batted back and forth and the actors go for the jugular. Keitel is in bulldog mode, greedily chewing scenery while Skarsgard, Bliebtreu and especially Minichmayr take a subtler, more emotional approach. The contrast is more than a little jarring, especially in the heated exchanges, which are too loud and abrasive to draw us in, and much too academic for this film to sustain.

Still, the literate script cleverly weaves the various testimonies into a fascinating story that doesn't give clear answers and yet tells us everything we need to know about Furtwangler, and Szabo fills the film with telling details that add context without insulting our intelligence. Alas, the low budget shows, as does an oddly old-school style of over-lighting the sets, making everything look extremely stagey, even though the settings are fascinating--outside it's desolation and rubble while inside are empty and expansive rooms and hallways crossed shafts of golden light.

Horrific (and heavy-handed) concentration camp footage is juxtaposed nicely with some truly creepy army training films, but awkward disparities fill the movie as a whole and badly weaken the overstated message. This is a shame since the issues are so relevant today.

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Taking Sides (2003) review written by: Rich Cline