Hitler in Hollywood (2010) User Reviews

Playful mockumentary thriller

[myriamlenys · 6/10 · 11 November 2019]

Even at her great age, actress Micheline Presle is still a handsome and vivacious woman. Asked about her best memories, she points to an old, long-forgotten film called "I do not love you", which she describes as a moving masterwork. This seems like an intriguing lead for a fine documentary. However, "I do not love you" has disappeared into the big nowhere, together with another movie called "Hitler in Hollywood"...

A little treat for cinephiles, "Hitler à Hollywood" is a playful, inventive take both on the illustrious career of actress Micheline Presle and on the long history of European cinema. Various themes are treated, such as the post-World War II hegemony of American entertainment or the tension between television and cinema. The inventive use of colour seems to betray the influence of comic book art, which, not coincidentally, is a Belgian speciality...

Viewers can also watch a long parade of celebrities, real, would-be or pseudo, most of whom seem to enjoy themselves hugely. At times it feels like attending a real-life (after)party for actors and directors.

Still, I can't say that I was blown apart by the depth and wisdom of the final revelation. Turns out that it's all the fault of the USA. Ah, well...

A playful mock-documentary about film making in Europe.

[chaplin1-660-883267 · 9/10 · 13 February 2011]

This is a very enjoyable, playful mock documentary. It is nicely played and of course Maria de Medeiros in the lead role is wonderful. The story goes that they are making a documentary about Micheline Presle a seductive leading lady of the 1940s who is now a not so Young Lady in Distress who wants, before she dies, to see a film she made that was never distributed or indeed even shown anywhere - a realistic plot twist given the fate of the director of her first film. It is her wish that takes the plot further into a new and eventually surrealistic turn.

As the film progresses Frédéric Sojcher returns to the film world's much discussed theme of being in The Shadow of Hollywood. Perhaps it was in the making of the real documentary Born to Film that Sojcher found the urge to make a conspiracy theory film.

HiH has some excellent locations, which are explained tongue-in-cheek as being there just for the fun of being there. The hand-held point-of-view documentary style that takes us into the head of the lovesick cameraman make the movie fun to see. This is a movie that doesn't take itself too seriously but succeeds in delivering a feeling of a real conspiracy. This is a film for film lovers, you can feel that it was made with a lot of joy and I had a lot of fun watching it.

excellent and highly original

[wvisser-leusden · 28 October 2012]

'Hitler a Hollywood' (= French for 'Hitler in Hollywood') is made by Frederic Sojcher. A Belgian, originating from the country's French-speaking part.

Now Belgium has a great reputation for comic-books, and this film clearly derives its inspiration from there. It offers us a highly intelligent merge of fantasy and reality, intelligently mixing the present with the past. With excellent use of another great comic book-feature: picturing.

'Hitler a Hollywood's slightly tongue-in-cheek performance is crowned by the impeccable performances of Maria de Medeiros and Micheline Presle - two ladies who do not need any further introduction.

I don't think that 'Hitler a Hollywood' will attract great audiences, though, for this the film is too French-cultured. And its story is a little too complicated as well. Its issue is unfriendly: the commercial war between Hollywood and the European film

Great movie !

[christine-destexhe · 10/10 · 9 April 2011]

"Hitler in Hollywood" is a great movie : unusual, pleasant, intriguing and funny. We also learn interesting things. What's unusual is the mix of a fictional story and true archives and authentic references to the film history. It is a road movie across all Europe: Scenes are filmed in Paris, Venice, Berlin, Brussels, Cannes, London, Oostende and Malta. It makes the movie so different from anyone else. Actors are great. Micheline Presles is marvelous and it's right to say that "the most beautiful actress remains so all her life". Maria de Meideros is also charming. All actors have been well selected. I understand that some people may not like it. But they should respect the opinion of the others who will really appreciate it. And I believe that most will appreciate it.

Great

[slamslom · 9/10 · 3 May 2011]

It's a great movie between the fiction and the documentary with humor and an historical point of view. The history is about a mysterious old movie which cannot be found that the first character inquiry in. There are a lot of guest star, famous french actor who appear like Edouard Baer or Nathalie Baye or famous international director like Emir Kusturica. The historical point of view is about the cinema and his history especially after the second world war. The direction is great with good actors. Moreover this fictional documentary that pays tribute to Micheline Presle. Furthermore the technical side is very surprising, the film was directed solely with a Canon 5D. The images were processed to accentuate the colors of the main characters and reduce the rest of the image. To conclude it's a movie full of humor and whimsy, with a lot of films references.