Riefenstahl

Triumph of the Will had its triumphant release in 1935—its excellent cinematography and innovative storytelling have since earned it recognition as the Nazis' most effective propaganda film, and it won the prestigious Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Perhaps audiences didn’t understand the machinery Adolf Hitler was setting in motion back then, but did the director behind the masterpiece understand? Leni Riefenstahl has not fared well historically, though she maintained to the very end that she knew nothing. After Triumph of the Will, she went on to make similarly striking documentaries about the Berlin Olympics in 1936. After World War II, a tribunal cleared her of charges of aiding war crimes, albeit with reservations, but this wasn’t enough to regain acceptance in the filmmaking community. Through a series of interviews and television appearances by Riefenstahl over the years, director Anders Veiel has crafted a deeply nuanced documentary about her. Audiences are left to contemplate questions of guilt, seen through the unforgiving lens of hindsight.

This film was chosen by film critic Brit Aksnes.