The Kaiser's Lackey (1951/aka Der Untertan/First Run Features DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: C Extras: C Film: B-
This 1951
fictional film about man named Diedrich's his life through society and how he
became Wolfgang Staudte’s The Kaiser's
Lackey, an East German film, is now on DVD. From a young age Diedrich was afraid of all
those around him, he was taught and beaten (figuratively and literally) to
respect and obey those superior to him. As
Diedrich grows to adulthood he becomes more cunning and learns if you want to
get ahead in life there are two ways, one is to grovel before others, or step
on top of others. As he advances from
his beer drinking military cadet days to a factory owner and finally the
Kaiser's lackey, Diedrich show how a small fearful man can rise to power with
little effort by having the 'right' connections.
This is a historical satire that makes fun of how a character could rise to
power in early 20th century Germany
in the times when Kaisers ruled. Based
on historical Germany,
it showed how Diedrich lived in an elitism caste system, and as long as he was
part of the nationalist (those that supported the Kaiser) he was justified in
any actions, including taking advantage of others, which then usually allowed
him to rise to even higher power. This
film is comedy with the character Diedrich, when before his superiors his
behavior was docile and sub-serviant, but when he was the superior he lorded
over others as if he were the Kaiser himself. It was amusing to see the change in
personality when the roles got reversed.
While historic fiction, there is a kernel of truth that can be found in this
fictional Germany,
about political animals and their natures to gain more power. Ideas such as stepping on others for political
gain, political ridicule and back stabbing, etc... While in more current history West Germany has been trying to unify and make
peace with East Germany,
this film was banned in West
Germany until recently, probably for
political reason (ironically). The capitalist
side (West Germany) most
likely didn't want the people to be reminded of Germany's past rulers/government
with authoritarianism, no matter how fictional the film/character was. This film was done in black and white giving a
sense the past, there was plenty of symbolic reference Germanic Empire,
military rule and even suggestions to how it lead to the eventual rise of the
Third Reich. Extras include biographies
and filmographies from the director, a historical timeline and Interpreting The Kaiser's Lackey (2007).
- Ricky Chiang
