The trouble with "Max" is that it's difficult to take a movie seriously that has a pre-Reich Adolf Hitler as one of its principal
characters. In fact, it's difficult sometimes to tell whether the movie even WANTS to be taken seriously, though I ultimately have little doubt that it does. But when we hear lines like, "You're a hard man to like, Hitler" and, "Wanna go out for drinks, Hitler?," what should our reaction be? We have seen "The Producers" and have experienced the catharsis in ridiculing the most evil man of the 20th century through satire and irony. How can we view this kind of dialogue as anything but winkingly self-referential? How about when the young Hitler (Noah Taylor), in the military in Munich in 1918, tells his fellow soldiers, "I don't believe in anti-Semitism"? He elaborates to explain that anti-Semitism should come through government means rather than through emotion -- that is, he IS anti-Semitic, but not for personal reasons -- but upon hearing that initial line, what should we do? Smirk? Laugh? Wince?
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