Look Who's Back (2015)

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This movie provides pretty much what it advertises: "Borat"-like scenes of actor Oliver Masucci, in full Adolf Hitler getup, hilariously and sometimes terrifyingly interacting with real-life German citizens. Some are happy to see Hitler; some are angry. It's all undeniably entertaining, and perhaps there's some social value to these proceedings as well.Outside of that, there's a thin plot about a cowardly filmmaker, played by Fabian Busch, whose career prospects aren't looking too good... until he finds a very committed Hitler method actor who seems to have materialized out of thin air in a local park. Busch's associates at a failing German TV network (Christoph Maria Herbst and Katja Riemann) soon realize this Hitler lookalike is a boon for their ratings... until it becomes apparent that he may not be an actor after all.It's predictable for the first two thirds, but the final third gets a bit trippy and surreal, which I very much appreciated. And the film has some surprisingly touching and dramatic scenes sprinkled in amid all the goofy comedy - this is Hitler, after all, and the crimes he committed are directly addressed in a serious way.While those serious and dramatic bits sometimes clash with the comedic ones, overall this is a fun, unique German satire that should keep you entertained and may even make you think (plus it'll scratch a particular itch for those who love Sacha Baron Cohen's "Borat"). I'm looking forward to watching it again.

I kept this movie in my backlog for too long. At first I thought it's going to be another silly comedy with a character from the past waking up in modern days and gasps in wonder how this 'magical' technology works. It wasn't the main reason I put it aside though. I thought it's going to be full of exaggerated moral lessons and whatnot. Oh boy I was wrong. It's true that the main character IE Adolf Hitler discovers wonders of the modern world, but the movie doesn't make a big deal of out it. It plays it out to Hitler character. He is amazed and excited how can he use modern technology to further his goals. Hitler makes a lot of commentary about modern state of media which is pretty universal and not exclusive to German media. I think everyone can take few interesting lessons here. The most funny part of the movie in my opinion is how he reacts to the modern politics. I don't want to spoil it, but I was really amused with what party he identified the most(at least at first). It made sense actually. I really liked and laughed out loud when Adolf took jabs at his political "successors". His commentary about how pathetic they are were spot on and faces these people made were priceless. In my opinion it was the best scene in the movie after his first TV speech. It's worth mentioning that acting(and writing of course) is really superb. A+ for actor playing Adolf Hitler. Oliver Masucci was born to play this role! Charismatic, smooth talker and really believable. His screen presence was absolutely overwhelming. Without him it wouldn't be the same movie.The much feared by me moral lessons are of course there, but it's not hamfisted to the point you want to just puke. They are actually smart social commentary even if I don't fully agree with them. Movie actually made me question what the real message is and I like this in movies. It makes them less a masturbatory propaganda material to remind you what moral stance you should have and more a movie that makes you seek answers on your own.I wholeheartedly recommend this movie to anyone interested at least a bit in politics and history. I don't remember the last time I laughed so much and at the same time was enough interested in the movie to be sad it ended. To everyone else I can give a solid recommendation.

A movie with a great idea of Hitler waking up in our time based on the book with the same title.I liked it for the most part. I liked the idea and how it was written. Bringing the humor and at the same time sending a message with it. It is especially well done how the movie flows. At first it is more of a lighthearted comedy which gets more serious with the time and the last scenes of it are not about humor anymore but summarizing the idea of how Hitler would have a chance in our time to repeat the history. |We get the mockumentary moments where Hitler talks to people and they give him their views on current politics and what bothers them. I have looked into it and seems that they were all staged and just presented as real interviews. It is pretty well done though how most look at Hitler not as a history monster but entertainment and are exited to take selfies with him.The portrayal of Hitler by Oliver Masucci is great. He presents the Hitler energy and charismatic speaking very well. He makes us kind of like Hitler. He is that interesting outspoken guy even though in the back of our mind his crimes against humans in the past remind us of who he really is. And from time to time his actions, like killing the dog, bring us back to reality that he is not a nice human being. Yet this portrayal of Hitler as a man we are drawn to and enjoy listening what he says about wanting to improve his country instead of showing him as a caricature monster shows how we can still be influenced and manipulated these days even by somebody with the views that we are so sure we will not repeat by having learned from the past.The scenes of him talking on TV and being taken in are also a great part of it. As well as some people realizing that he is not seeing just as a comedian by people as he was in the beginning but that they actually like what he says. This is this nice transition of people being taken in but what they think is harmless entertainment and swallowing propaganda. We have also a great scene of the grandma looking at Hitler and recognizing him from the past which gives a comment on this with her remembering how at first people were also seeing him as harmless.Besides the main idea of the movie I also enjoyed some laughs at Hitler discovering the modern world. Especially him going to dry cleaning, watching TV and being upset over so many cook shows selecting the Greens as his favorite party and exploring the internet which he then sees as a great propaganda tool which it is.I guess I am just not too much into the very left wing bias which makes us think of every person who has any concerns and does not 100% agree with the left. Mind you I have never voted for the right wing. But I am irritated by every person leaning right being linked with Hitler. There is noting eye opening or revolutionary about it, it is the norm of today. Left propaganda is as real as the right one and I have felt a slight stench of it in this movie. I am interested in reading the book now because from what I have read it is not having those propaganda elements but is an intelligent book with a thought provoking message.But for the most part I liked the movie. It had it all together, a creative idea, good acting, fun and serious moments and a way to bring the view of the ones making it in a creative way.

This film is intended to be about the way modern German society deals with important issues facing them, and they way they can quickly come under the spell of a "strong leader" ETC. Unintended by the film makers I suspect, was the way the modern left exposed themselves in the way they see those who dare to disagree with their positive views on globalisation and internationalism.The main message of the film seems to be that those Germans (or Europeans in any European nation) who believe that Germany isn't some giant refugee centre for the rest of the planet, and that Germans have a right to their own indigenous land, not the rest of humanity, are just like Der Fuhrer.An example of this can be seen in real time news footage of a Swede making the suggestion that asylum seekers, heaven forbid, should actually accept the cultural and societal norms of Sweden. Oh how "Evil" of that "intolerant" man! The film is well made and funny (who'd a thought Germans had a sense of humour?) in places. But take the leftist political message with a grain of salt. Europeans have EVERY RIGHT to be concerned about their demographic integrity and migration from the developing world that never seems to cease. They have the right to be concerned about these things without being demonised as Nazis or anything else.