That's a good idea -- about some kind of prefatory announcement before the actual drama of the film. I'm not an expert on Ganz. I still haven't seen Sokurov's Molokh, which I must -- after Father and Son and The Sun, I've become a Sokurov fan. Unfortunately from our point of view nobody knows much and the movies or TV they see misinforms them because it tells them too little. I believe in preparing the Dictionary of Cultural Literacy S.E. Hirsch found that only a minority of younger people knew the dates of WWI, WWII, the (US) Civil War. Even Vietnam is a mystery to them. But they need to absorb way more than a German movie to learn about the Nazis and WWII.
When you're watching an actor it may be better if you don't know him at all or not very well. I was conscious this was an actor impersonating Hitler, how could it be otherwise? But I think he did a fantastic job. I didn't see him trying too hard. And I agree with those who consider this a great performance, one for which the movie should be remembered. But the character so strange, I can see how you might find it strained. It would be interesting as I said in connection with The SUn to compare Ganz with Issei Ogata's remarkable performance as Hirohito there.
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