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(More customer reviews)German playwright Bertolt Brecht felt that theatre should teach the audience certain moral lessons, and to this end he developed a mode of presentation frequently described as "theatre of alienation"--a type of production in which the audience is never allowed to fully indentify with the characters and their situations and is instead asked to critically observe the material and draw conclusions from it. For the most part, this is a style that works best on the stage--but director Michael Verhoeven uses it as a springboard for THE NASTY GIRL. And the result is one of the few instances in which these Brechtian concepts come successfully to the screen.
The story is wickedly funny. A bright young lass, the daughter of two teachers, wins an essay contest--and when the next contest is announced she again decides to compete, this time with an essay on "My Hometown During The Third Reich," in which she plans to show how her small Bavarian town resisted Nazism. But few, even those regarded by the townfolk as heroes of that era, are willing to discuss it--and those that do provide conflicting information. She eventually gives up the project, but it continues to fester in the back of her mind, and some years later when she resumes her research with the idea of writing a book she discovers that the anti-Nazi heroes were not, perhaps, either anti-Nazi or heroic.
The main thrust of the film centers upon Sonja's relentless battle against the powers that be to obtain access to documents from the Nazi era, and how civic leaders work to frustrate her--both by persistently dodging her demands for the material and by direct terrorism. But their resistance makes Sonja all the more determined, and she becomes willing to pay any personal price. Ultimately, she does arrive at some of the truth, only to discover that she has now been enshrined by civic leaders as a "hero" in an effort to silence her with praise.
Director Michael Verhoeven presents the story in an odd mix of documentary and theatrical and realistic styles that mesh extremely well to create that famous Brechtian effect without ever actually seeming preachy. And leading actress Lena Stolze, as "the nasty girl" who accidentally drifts into the role of advocate for the truth at any price, is equally remarkable: she gives a very likeable, bemused performance that draws the viewer in even while maintaining the necessary degree of detachment the style requires. Not all viewers will appreciate the film--some will find the subject too dark, others may not be able to buy into the style--but this is a brilliant film, and you owe it a chance. Strongly recommended.
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