Marcel Ophuls, Director

Marcel Ophuls was a true citizen of he world. He was born in Germany, the son of famed director Max Ophuls. He actually lived in America during his formative years and made several of his films here. He also had a dual citizenship with France, and he lived there most of his mature years. He made lots of films in France. He died recently at the good old age of 97.

    He is for the most part known to American audiences for The Sorrow and the Pity (1969). A master at documentaries, this is his best. He was nominated for an Oscar but somehow lost to The Helstrom Chronicles. Yeah, he was robbed! Ophuls’ scathing story of French collaboration with the Nazis during World War II unleashed a firestorm of fury in France and Germany. The French had been saying that the Vichy government and its apologists resisted the Germans. Ophuls ripped the cover off of that, revealing how some French cozied up to their invaders. 

In November Days (1971) Ophuls covers the reunification of Germany, mostly by interviews with former East Germans. I guess most of us Yanks thought everyone in Germany cheered for the country being together again. But actually, not everyone. 

In A Sense Of Loss (1972) Ophuls turns his sights on the troubles in Northern Ireland. Catholics and Protestants unleash hatred and terror on each other. You won’t find a more even-handed treatment of this subject. Ophuls lets you make up your own mind. Most of the people interviewed in this stellar documentary are dead now, but the smoldering conflict is still just under the surface. 

The Memory of Justice (1975) is quite a handful, with a running time of over four hours. The subject is wartime atrocities and nobody gets off scot free. There’s lots about Nuremberg but also about Viet Nam. The question of individual versus collective responsibility is aired. It also raises the question about who gets to point fingers without looking in the mirror. Some of the footage is hard to take; no one under 12 should be anywhere close to this film. If you do decide to watch it, it can be neatly cut into two hour segments without losing momentum. 

Nominated again for Hotel Terminus (1988), this time Ophuls scored the Oscar for best Documentary Feature. And he certainly deserved it. This is the story of Klaus Barbie, a Nazi bigwig who escaped to Colombia, where he lived until he was captured and sent to stand trial as a war criminal in France. The film is incredibly even-handed, containing wide ranging interviews with various people. Some insist Barbie was a torturer and all-in villain. Many others insist he only followed orders and did his best to diminish German atrocities. Anyway, he is usually referred to as The Butcher of Lyon. The film ends at the conclusion of his trial. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. He died in 1991.

All of the movies in this article are for adults.