To Be or Not To Be, 1983. Dir: Alan Johnson

To Be or Not To Be

Year: 1983

Director: Alan Johnson

To Be or Not To Be is a comedy based in a 1942 classic. Although the impact on the viewer of a comedy about the Nazi invasion of Europe is quite different in 1983 than it was in 1942, the film combines, somehow strange and uncomfortable, elements of comedy and drama. The astonishing after math of War World II and the Holocaust completely change how our generations perceived any material based on historical events related with the Nazi Party, its actions, and its leaders.

In general, the film does not focus on the negative actions of the Nazi invasion, but rather on the efforts of a group of theater actors to save members of a Polish underground resistance.

The decision of the director Alan Johnson to include the scenes in which one of the backstage assistants is marked with a pink triangle and later on in the film persecuted for his sexual orientation by the Nazis adds to the drama and creates awareness of the intolerance shown by Nazis not only against Jewish people but also homosexuals. In the film several of the characters advocated for his liberation after his arrest. This portion of the film does not belong to the original 1942 film. It was interesting to see how a message of this nature was sent across in a comedy film.

The way other characters, like the commander of the Gestapo, are depicted also brings cross feelings. He is a regular person that laughs at jokes, and he jokes himself. He has a boss and does what he is told; he is also somehow goofy. While for 50 years Nazis have been depicted in movies as coldhearted killers with no feelings, they were probably regular people that felt sad and happy. I am not by any means sympathizing with them. This is just another proof that historical events can change completely the perception of material like films. This is also a proof that fiction films that are based in historical event can easily deviate or mislead from real historical facts.