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November 23, 2007
The Sorrow, The Pity, and the Sopranos
I had a festive Thanksgiving, sitting alone in my dimly lit apartment watching "The Sorrow and the Pity." What fun! The four-hour exploration of resistance and collaboration in France in World War II. What struck me, in the first minutes of the documentary, was the appearance of a German officer interviewed in 1969. One discussion of the film said this about him:
The closest the film comes to a standard villain is in the person of a properly plump German businessman, who takes time out at a family wedding (in front of the bride and groom) to state that the resisting Frenchmen were not considered partisans (irregular soldiers, to be accorded military rights) because they went about their 'crimes of assassination' without wearing armbands so they could be identified on sight. He puffs a cigar and still proudly wears small insignia badges of his army service, badges issued by the Nazis.
What shocked me about this talking head: He's a dead ringer for Tony Soprano. The right age, the right balding head, the right weight, the right waving around of a cigar, the same calm confidence in his violent acts. The similarity is chilling. Watch it and see.
Van | 11/23/07 at 08:36 PM | Categories: Competing narratives
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Comments
Email me next time, we can provide a completely dysfunctional family experience for you to chronicle instead
epaminondas | November 27, 2007 02:25 PM
