Taking Sides (2001)
One of the most spectacular and renowned conductors of the 1930s, Wilhelm Furtwangler's reputation rivaled that of Toscanini's. After the war, he was investigated as part of the Allies' de-Nazification programme. In the bombed-out Berlin of the immediate post-war period, the Allies slowly bring law and order to bear on an occupied Germany. An American major is given the Furtwangler file, and is told to find everything he can and to prosecute the man ruthlessly. Tough and hard-nosed, Major Steve Arnold sets out to investigate a world of which he knows nothing.
Introduction"Taking Sides" is a 2001 film directed by István Szabó, composed by Ronald Harwood and based upon his play of the exact same name. The film focuses on the real-life character of Dr. Wilhelm Furtwängler, who was a well-known conductor in Nazi Germany. The plot checks out the social, moral, and creative problems Furtwängler dealt with throughout the Third Reich routine.
StorySet in post-World War II Germany, Major Steve Arnold, played by Harvey Keitel, a brash and uncompromising American officer, is assigned to investigate Furtwängler, subtly portrayed by Stellan Skarsgård for his supposed complicity with the Nazi routine. The significant holds a strong belief that anyone who remained in Germany and continued to pursue their professional life was a Nazi collaborator, consisting of Furtwängler.
ConflictFrom the start, a clear dispute is drawn in between Arnold's preconceived conviction and Furtwängler's defense that he remained in Germany not to support the Nazi program however to bring alleviation to individuals through music in the middle of nationwide destruction. Arnold, however, is determined in proving Furtwängler guilty and uses harsh interrogation strategies to accomplish this. He inspects every element of Furtwängler's life before and throughout the war, including his friends and relationships, which produces intense dramaturgical disputes.
Art vs. PoliticsThe film also digs deep into the controversy of art versus politics. Szabó juxtaposes Furtwängler, who is ethically uncertain however a fantastic artiste, with Arnold, who is well-defined in his morality however not able to value the going beyond power of art. Furtwängler argues that he aimed to serve the reason for terrific music and keep it alive under a repressive program, a sentiment that Arnold discovers hard to accept.
ConclusionThe engaging end to the movie leaves audiences in a grey location. Furtwängler is eventually cleared by the tribunal however not before his reputation is left tarnished. Despite the fact that cleared, he was left merely a shadow of his previous self as he was no longer respected as he used to be. The masterful performances by Keitel and Skarsgård make "Taking Sides" a captivating look at the ethical obscurities inherent in living and working under a dictatorship.
While resolving the larger concern of complicity and resistance under a totalitarian program, "Taking Sides" presents an effective theatrical face-off between two excellent actors and makes viewers question their ethical compasses.
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