Not Reconciled (Nicht versöhnt oder Es hilft nur Gewalt, wo Gewalt herrscht)
Directed by Jean-Marie Straub
Written by Danielle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub from a novel by Heinrich Boll
1965/West Germany
Produktion Straub-Huillet
First viewing/FilmStruck

[box] Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal. Martin Luther King, Jr. [/box]

Far too much plot and message for one hour-long film.

This covers the lives of a single German family during three periods of recent German history – WWI, the 1930s, and modern day.  But the viewer must work to stay oriented as to time and the message is basically that the past is living in the present.

I can’t take credit for understanding much about this movie.  I don’t have the strength to watch it again.  On to the next one!

Most of this went straight over my head – here is one critic’s reconstruction