In the movie, Sonja is selected to write an essay on her hometown’s involvement in Nazi Germany during the Third Reich. Throughout her life, Sonja was led to believe that her town resisted the Nazi uprising, which in her mind glorifies her town. She was told that because of their Christian beliefs (and according to Hoerschelmann this was not uncommon for German Christians, particularly Protestants) her town resisted the Nazi uprising. However, when Sonja goes to research the topic, she comes up empty handed several times. She can not find information on her town’s involvement until approximately half way through the film. It is here that she begins to discover the truth, which is that her town’s current leaders were not only involved in the Third Reich, but also

The artistic and cinematic devices in the film are done in a very stimulating and new way. The film manages to blend traditional narrative with a mockumentary style. The viewer is shown vignettes of Sonja’s life as though it were a narrative film. We are shown scenes from her childhood and scenes in which she is conducting research that are comparable to any narrative film. This technique however is inter-spliced with scenes of Sonja breaking the fourth wall and speaking directly to the viewer giving the film a documentary feel, thereby legitimizing the information given. The film does make its point however, to not represent itself as a total documentary. There are several scenes in the film that attempt to establish the film as art in addition to information. The scene that easily comes to mind (and is mentioned in Hoerschelmann’s article) is when Sonja and her family are screening the threatening phone calls they receive. Their living room appears to be floating over the town. This convention reminds the viewer that they are not watching a documentary but a narrative film based on historical truths. The filmmakers blurring the line between documentary and narrative film fi

Some topics in this essay:
Third Reich, Olaf Hoerchelmann’s, German Christians, Reich Throughout, public memory, Nasty Girl, narrative film, town’s involvement, sonja’s grandmother, oral culture, historical event, , oral culture passed, documentary narrative film, third reich, memory public, memory public memory, hometown’s involvement, resisted nazi, town resisted nazi, resisted nazi uprising,