Page 97 - All About History - Issue 186-19

HISTORY HOLLYWOOD

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Fact versus fiction on the silver screen

MAX

Director: Menno Meyjes Starring: John Cusack, Noah Taylor, Leelee Sobieski Country: Netherlands, Hungary Released: 2002

A dark comedy that draws from history, but definitely takes more

A fictitious account, but not
than a few liberties with it wholly without truth ©Alamy
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The film follows Max The film gets a few aesthetic Hitler expresses his disdain Captain Karl Mayr is shown Max flicks through some
01 Rothman, played by John 02 details of Hitler wrong. He 03 for modern art throughout 04 as the man who draws 05 of Hitler’s architectural
Cusack, a Jewish art dealer who had a full moustache in WWI and the film, although he attempts to Hitler towards politics. He was his sketches depicting a future Germany
befriends and offers artistic advice after, but in the film is largely clean dabble in it. This is true to his real superior in the army after the war similar to the Third Reich. Some of
to Hitler (Noah Taylor). Rothman is shaven. He also claims not to smoke, artistic tastes. In fact, the Nazis and it was at his suggestion that these are actually designs by Albert
fictitious, although Hitler did work drink or eat meat. Sources suggest he held a Degenerate Art exhibition to Hitler joined the German Workers’ Speer, the Reich’s chief architect,
with a Jewish art dealer named didn’t go vegetarian until at least the discredit the modern art movement, Party. But they wrongly claim it had who joined the Nazis in 1931, many
Samuel Morgenstern before WWI. mid-1930s, but Max is set in 1918-19. but it actually proved rather popular. 500 members. It only had 50 or so. years after the events of the film.

5x © Pathé Pictures

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