First, I wanted to thank each of you for your thoughtful entries to this contest. I am always impressed with your comments and it means so much to me that each of you participates in the little community we've made together on this blog. I LOVE hearing from you. I plan to keep doing giveaways until each of you win at least one lovely thank you treat.
And without further adieu, the winner of a copy of the novel "Never Let Me Go", an autographed poster and t-shirt is Liz who said:
, with Viggo Mortensen, which just came out on DVD. It depicts a normal German college professor's gradual rise in the ranks of the Nazi party. What really set it apart from every other Nazi movie I've seen is that it depicts him as a good, if flawed, person who gradually makes small but significant compromises for his own sake and the sake of those around him, justifying them to himself in various flimsy ways.[SPOILERS] First, he refrains from speaking out against Nazi book burnings, joins the Party and finally accepts an "honorary" position in the SS to advance his career under the pretext that he can affect change from within; he accepts an offer from Goebbels to have his novel about the ethical complications of compassion for the dying turned into a propaganda film for euthanasia; he makes only a half-hearted effort to secure his close Jewish friend exit papers.
However, though we aren't asked to sympathize with him at the end, he never becomes a caricature or a monster; he is weak and complacent rather than evil and without humanity. The absence of faux-German accents and typically German first names among the main characters and the use of familiar (if British) colloquialisms underscore the film's implication that what happens here could happen at any time and in any country."
Sounds like a powerful film Liz- I'm adding it to my Netflix que for sure! Thanks for the amazing recommendation and please do let us know what you think of the novel! Congratulations!
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