POPCORN REVIEWSS

Based on the book The Nazi And The Psychiatrist by Jack El-Hai and adapted by James Vanderbilt, Nuremberg has a historical significance of its own, particularly as a reactionary followup of the events that had transpired in the Hitler era with respect to the concentration camps that saw the death of half a million Jews. In that regard, the politics of the drama is set straight up at the start with the capture of Goring and his subordinates, triggering a chain of events that coaxes many nations to join hands in a bid for justice. One such inclusion remains that of Justice Robert Jackson (Michael Shannon), who along with a representative of lawyers from each country, is asked to present an argument of proving the guilt of the Nazi prisoners. And what could have been a direct verdict on their war crimes is deviated into a fair trial, given how Jackson feels that ‘none of them must die a martyr’ and that it is imperative to show the world through a fair trial that humanity still exists – and the same mistakes aren’t committed in the shifting power dynamics in play.

And yet, much of the courtroom scenes in the first hour are reduced in the background even with respect to the politics in play, as the focus lies on the budding dynamic between Kelly and Goring. On the surface of it, this may seem like a bromance even as Kelly warms up to the charm of Goring, minutely standing up to the atrocities that are committed to him, while also volunteering to visit Goring’s family comprising of his wife and daughter and carrying out their hand-written letters to him. Given that the drama does unfold through the gaze of Kelly, you see him enamoured by Goring’s wit and charm – be it the latter pretending to not know the English language and in the process, outwitting fellow soldier Sgt. Howie Triest (Leo Woodall), or even assuming him to be a family man caught in a crossfire between his duties and actual thoughts. In multiple moments, you see Kelly going out of his way to help Goring, while also developing a close proximity to the latter’s family.

It is interesting on how the picture changes when you choose to look at the subtext of the drama, and equate it to the political climate of the globe currently. The underlying trait is that of manipulation – something that is synonymous with so many world leaders in today’s times. Most of them wish to create a public image of innocence while heavily manipulating the mob in their favour, even as their reality remains drastically different. In that sense, Kelly finds himself at the receiving end of Goring’s moves – trying to empathize with his situation and taking his case up against his own people. It is interesting how the lines of morality for Kelly are blurred even from a seemingly neutral stance, that in turn would have psychological implications to his personality, later on in his life.

The drama scores heavily during the courtroom sequences, while intercutting real-life footages in a docu-drama style of narrative. Here, the actual footage of the concentration camps involving clamps of dead bodies scooped from the ground will make you squirm in your seat, the appearance of malnutritioned ‘wiry’ bodies will churn your gut. And all of it has a vital significance in order to blur your own morality too – just like Kelly who would continue to defend Goring. For the latter, it isn’t about owning up any responsibility for his supposed actions, or alternately, even projecting himself as a martyr, even with an ideology of Hitler making Germany feel like home again.

If you were to draw parallels to the current political setup, you would know what a frightening thought this is – just like Jackson who believed Germany to crawl out of WWI and later turn up to be powerful in WWII, while being firm on his stance on how the world cannot afford another WWIII in the coming years. In that regard, the narrative also does distinguish between right and wrong through its characters – even while accounting for its emotional core to seep in with respect to the character of Howie and his backstory. These arguments bear a resounding impact on the skewed psychology of Kelly, even as he wishes to send out the global message of autocracy to the world while putting his own country at a pedestal too.

And outside the trials and the ultimate fate of the characters, you do realise that the world we live in today is eerily similar to the Nazi era – be it the slaughter of residents of Gaza or the erstwhile Syrian crisis – all dictated by nations that are powerful. The dictatorship is in full swing (at times even in the face of democracy in a few countries), making me realise on how humanity hasn’t learnt a thing from the past in the wake of the power dynamics doing the rounds.