Chris Knipp
09-18-2025, 03:53 PM
http://www.chrisknipp.com/images/%20leni.jpg
ANDRES VEIEL: RIEFENSTAHL (2024)
Artist/Nazi/artist/Nazi
Another film about Leni Riefenstahl? Yes, because she is an important figure who must be explained to the latest generation. This one is by Andres Veiel, the maker of Beuys). It's nearly two hours may be a little unnecessary. There is a plethora of images. But it provides the essentials, at least: that this was an important figure in the filmmaking of her time. And that her denials that she was a willing and knowing supporter of the Nazis and a collaborator with Adolf Hitler were false - and successful, permitting her again and again to continue to function unscathed.
You have to watch Riefenstahl's two films, Triumph of the Will and Olympia. One is about the huge Hitler rally. Triumph of the Will is the propaganda film documenting the Third Reich's 1934 Nuremberg Party Rally that illustrates with chilling clarity how Germany fell under Hitler's spell. Is it a "documentary" film? Yes, in that it depicts an actual event. But it is unmistakably a propaganda film. And it is itself spellbinding, a masterpiece, that should be seen. Albert Speer, another Third Reich figure who tried to slither away from his Nazi image later, designed that rally, by the way, and he and Leni had an unmistakable and documented "rapport."
Riefenstahl blurs the line between propaganda and art. She did not understand the distinction, as this film makes clear. In the many quotes from and interviews with her she always insists she wanted to make art and knew nothing about politics. This is nonsense. Although maybe she deceived herself, all her life. She is obviously a violently oppositional and argumentative person, who, life-long, cut off any filmmakers or interviewers who said anything she didn't want to hear.
The other must-see Riefenstahl film propaganda masterpiece is Olympia, which is about the 1936 Olympic Games. They were held in Berlin, and were a showcase for Nazism. This film is a trailblazer in techniques of shooting athletes and sports competitions. Riefenstahl had a record budget and hired thirty photographers to film the Games under her direction. This film went to the Venice Film Festival in Mussolini's Italy where it won the top prize. It was, no doubt, just the kind of thing Mussolini wanted to see, Naziism and Fascism being sister regimes. The film is a celebration of the male body and whiteness no doubt.
But there is a counter to Nazi racism that Riefenstahl's film does not hide: the triumph of Black American athlete Jesse Owens. Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics - in the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump and 4 × 100-meter relay - the first ever to achieve this feat and an obvious rebuke to Nazi Aryan supremacy ideology. Owens is present in Olympia scoring his triumphs. But there is no narration or explanation of any of the events, just the beautiful images and stirring, martial score. Nonetheless this is a pioneering cinematic celebration of athleticism. Yes, this fits in with fascist-Nazi athletics. But where do you draw the line? All film of sport celebrates the body.
There is a lot more about Riefenstahl. After watching this film and going back and watching her two major films, I also got out and looked through Riefenstahl's two big photo books from the seventies, The Nuba and The People of Kau. We learn from Veiel's film that Riefenstahl wasn't able to do much for several decades after the war, but she came back impressively with these. The film traces her accomplishments, and the lack of them, over those decades. It also describes her early achievements.
These early achievements were as a swimmer, dancer, actress, and filmmaker. She was fascinated by the mountain films that prevailed in the early Thirties and made her own, The Blue Light, which she directed and also starred in. Dismiss her as a mere Nazi propagandist at your peril. She was a dynamo whose achievements were remarkable for the time.
They also brought her to the attention of Adolf Hitler. She met with him on a number of occasions and the relationship was cordial. In fact when she first saw and heard him, she reveals that she had been mesmerized. This is why her lifelong post-Naziism denial of any relationship or even any interest, or any comprehension of politics is an absurd and highly unappealing part of her story. At certain moments she expressed regret. But many other declarations that have been unearthed, some reported in this film, reveal that Riefenstahl was never repentant and remained an unspoken supporter of Naziism all her life and admirer of HItler.
Riefenstahl's complicity was matched by the vehemence of her denial. She cultivated a life-long post-War illusion that she had no connection to Hitler or Naziism and that to say so was slander. Till her death - at the age of 101 - she denied any knowledge of the Nazi genocide nd the Holocaust. This film provides strong evidence to the contrary. This is one of its main purposes. But it does not hide the achievements either. Some artists aren't nice people. She is an extreme example of that.
Riefenstahl, 115 mins., premiered at Venice Aug. 29, 2024, showing also at Zurich, Mumbai, Thessaloniki, and numerous other international festivals. Distributed by Kino Lorber, it opened in New York Sept 5, 2025, in Los Angeles from Sept 12. It is being shown in the Bay Area from Sept. 19 at Smith Rafael Film Center. Metacritic (https://www.metacritic.com/movie/riefenstahl/) rating: 82%.
ANDRES VEIEL: RIEFENSTAHL (2024)
Artist/Nazi/artist/Nazi
Another film about Leni Riefenstahl? Yes, because she is an important figure who must be explained to the latest generation. This one is by Andres Veiel, the maker of Beuys). It's nearly two hours may be a little unnecessary. There is a plethora of images. But it provides the essentials, at least: that this was an important figure in the filmmaking of her time. And that her denials that she was a willing and knowing supporter of the Nazis and a collaborator with Adolf Hitler were false - and successful, permitting her again and again to continue to function unscathed.
You have to watch Riefenstahl's two films, Triumph of the Will and Olympia. One is about the huge Hitler rally. Triumph of the Will is the propaganda film documenting the Third Reich's 1934 Nuremberg Party Rally that illustrates with chilling clarity how Germany fell under Hitler's spell. Is it a "documentary" film? Yes, in that it depicts an actual event. But it is unmistakably a propaganda film. And it is itself spellbinding, a masterpiece, that should be seen. Albert Speer, another Third Reich figure who tried to slither away from his Nazi image later, designed that rally, by the way, and he and Leni had an unmistakable and documented "rapport."
Riefenstahl blurs the line between propaganda and art. She did not understand the distinction, as this film makes clear. In the many quotes from and interviews with her she always insists she wanted to make art and knew nothing about politics. This is nonsense. Although maybe she deceived herself, all her life. She is obviously a violently oppositional and argumentative person, who, life-long, cut off any filmmakers or interviewers who said anything she didn't want to hear.
The other must-see Riefenstahl film propaganda masterpiece is Olympia, which is about the 1936 Olympic Games. They were held in Berlin, and were a showcase for Nazism. This film is a trailblazer in techniques of shooting athletes and sports competitions. Riefenstahl had a record budget and hired thirty photographers to film the Games under her direction. This film went to the Venice Film Festival in Mussolini's Italy where it won the top prize. It was, no doubt, just the kind of thing Mussolini wanted to see, Naziism and Fascism being sister regimes. The film is a celebration of the male body and whiteness no doubt.
But there is a counter to Nazi racism that Riefenstahl's film does not hide: the triumph of Black American athlete Jesse Owens. Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics - in the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump and 4 × 100-meter relay - the first ever to achieve this feat and an obvious rebuke to Nazi Aryan supremacy ideology. Owens is present in Olympia scoring his triumphs. But there is no narration or explanation of any of the events, just the beautiful images and stirring, martial score. Nonetheless this is a pioneering cinematic celebration of athleticism. Yes, this fits in with fascist-Nazi athletics. But where do you draw the line? All film of sport celebrates the body.
There is a lot more about Riefenstahl. After watching this film and going back and watching her two major films, I also got out and looked through Riefenstahl's two big photo books from the seventies, The Nuba and The People of Kau. We learn from Veiel's film that Riefenstahl wasn't able to do much for several decades after the war, but she came back impressively with these. The film traces her accomplishments, and the lack of them, over those decades. It also describes her early achievements.
These early achievements were as a swimmer, dancer, actress, and filmmaker. She was fascinated by the mountain films that prevailed in the early Thirties and made her own, The Blue Light, which she directed and also starred in. Dismiss her as a mere Nazi propagandist at your peril. She was a dynamo whose achievements were remarkable for the time.
They also brought her to the attention of Adolf Hitler. She met with him on a number of occasions and the relationship was cordial. In fact when she first saw and heard him, she reveals that she had been mesmerized. This is why her lifelong post-Naziism denial of any relationship or even any interest, or any comprehension of politics is an absurd and highly unappealing part of her story. At certain moments she expressed regret. But many other declarations that have been unearthed, some reported in this film, reveal that Riefenstahl was never repentant and remained an unspoken supporter of Naziism all her life and admirer of HItler.
Riefenstahl's complicity was matched by the vehemence of her denial. She cultivated a life-long post-War illusion that she had no connection to Hitler or Naziism and that to say so was slander. Till her death - at the age of 101 - she denied any knowledge of the Nazi genocide nd the Holocaust. This film provides strong evidence to the contrary. This is one of its main purposes. But it does not hide the achievements either. Some artists aren't nice people. She is an extreme example of that.
Riefenstahl, 115 mins., premiered at Venice Aug. 29, 2024, showing also at Zurich, Mumbai, Thessaloniki, and numerous other international festivals. Distributed by Kino Lorber, it opened in New York Sept 5, 2025, in Los Angeles from Sept 12. It is being shown in the Bay Area from Sept. 19 at Smith Rafael Film Center. Metacritic (https://www.metacritic.com/movie/riefenstahl/) rating: 82%.