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| $17.50 @ ImportCDs.com |
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Pacifist, Nazi Resister. DVD. Directed by Martin Doblmeier. 2003.
While staying true to the documentary genre; the director (Martin Doblmeier) includes personal interpretation in such a way that both engages and challenges the viewer in a unique way. Doblmeier devotes a significant portion of Bonhoeffer towards establishing background instead of expounding on later years of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s life. (Which are more commonly known.) (*** For those who do not know; Bonhoeffer was a German Protestant pastor who resisted the Nazi regime in WWII.***) Beginning with the earliest information of Bonhoeffer’s life, Doblmeier slowly builds a case for the perception of the man presented in the concluding moments.
Professionals frequently interrupt the developing narrative in order to provide interpretive insights regarding Bonhoeffer’s circumstances. After several of these interpretive statements, a pattern clearly begins to develop. With only a few exceptions, a general statement regarding God or Christianity is made and on the basis of that unchallenged position the professional will present his interpretation.
For example, Bishop Albrecht Schonherr is quoted stating, “God is a God of peace and justice and one is not true to Him when one has a weak conception of war or Justice.” Bishop Schonherr makes this claim in light of the ironic tension of using murder to end a war. In many ways this is a nonsensical statement when used (as in the documentary) independent of any clarification or further explanation. I would be very interested to know if Bishop Schonherr places priority on either peace or justice and how he views God as being able to resolve that tension. As presented; this question is assumed to have an obvious resolution and furthermore, the capacity for man to imitate this Godly balance is likewise assumed.
Expounding the high ethical standards developed by Bonhoeffer, John De Gruchy defines Christianity as “putting into practice what Jesus preached at the sermon on the mount.” While possibly defensible, this is not the position that Bonhoeffer held. (Or at the very least first held.) Bonhoeffer was highly Christocentric and defined Christianity as the visible representation of Christ through the community of the Church. I suspect that De Gruchy has confused functional and positional Christianity. A Christian is someone who is associated with Christ, not someone who does “Christian” actions. For example, Gandhi never claimed to be a Christian while he did practice many of the commandments of Jesus in Matthew 5-7.
As a third example of this formula, John De Gruchy on a separate occasion defends Bonhoeffer’s actions from a theistic perspective. De Gruchy begins by stating that the question of right and wrong is flawed from the beginning. The real question is “what does God want me to do?” He goes only a little further suggesting that if anyone could know the will of God, surely a professor of Theology would. While I can be confident that his statement is well-intended, the mere investigation of God’s will does not cause one to infallibly arrive at it. Countless wicked deeds have been done by men believing that they were within God’s will.
Conclusion:
While the extensive history of Bonhoeffer’s life was very helpful in allowing the viewer to understand his circumstances more holistically, I thought the account of actual wartime measures was lacking. The audience will surely understand how passionate Bonhoeffer was for peace but someone completely unfamiliar with his story might never understand the extent of the actual measures taken against the Nazi war machine. The war-time phase of his life seems to be the most significant and this documentary I feel has majored on the minors. I also had hoped for more primary source material on Bonhoeffer. As mentioned above, many historians and theologians presented their opinions as to the influence of his life but ironically Bonhoeffer's own opinions seem to be overshadowed by them. Furthermore, those interpretations regarding Bonhoeffer weigh heavily on a particular philosophy or life-view and were varied and unquestioned by the presenters.
Ultimately I did enjoy the documentary and I have a great respect for Bonhoeffer’s legacy. This documentary has greatly spiked my interest in this man (especially regarding his war-time theology) and I hope to study him further in the near future.
While staying true to the documentary genre; the director (Martin Doblmeier) includes personal interpretation in such a way that both engages and challenges the viewer in a unique way. Doblmeier devotes a significant portion of Bonhoeffer towards establishing background instead of expounding on later years of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s life. (Which are more commonly known.) (*** For those who do not know; Bonhoeffer was a German Protestant pastor who resisted the Nazi regime in WWII.***) Beginning with the earliest information of Bonhoeffer’s life, Doblmeier slowly builds a case for the perception of the man presented in the concluding moments.
Professionals frequently interrupt the developing narrative in order to provide interpretive insights regarding Bonhoeffer’s circumstances. After several of these interpretive statements, a pattern clearly begins to develop. With only a few exceptions, a general statement regarding God or Christianity is made and on the basis of that unchallenged position the professional will present his interpretation.
For example, Bishop Albrecht Schonherr is quoted stating, “God is a God of peace and justice and one is not true to Him when one has a weak conception of war or Justice.” Bishop Schonherr makes this claim in light of the ironic tension of using murder to end a war. In many ways this is a nonsensical statement when used (as in the documentary) independent of any clarification or further explanation. I would be very interested to know if Bishop Schonherr places priority on either peace or justice and how he views God as being able to resolve that tension. As presented; this question is assumed to have an obvious resolution and furthermore, the capacity for man to imitate this Godly balance is likewise assumed.
Expounding the high ethical standards developed by Bonhoeffer, John De Gruchy defines Christianity as “putting into practice what Jesus preached at the sermon on the mount.” While possibly defensible, this is not the position that Bonhoeffer held. (Or at the very least first held.) Bonhoeffer was highly Christocentric and defined Christianity as the visible representation of Christ through the community of the Church. I suspect that De Gruchy has confused functional and positional Christianity. A Christian is someone who is associated with Christ, not someone who does “Christian” actions. For example, Gandhi never claimed to be a Christian while he did practice many of the commandments of Jesus in Matthew 5-7.
As a third example of this formula, John De Gruchy on a separate occasion defends Bonhoeffer’s actions from a theistic perspective. De Gruchy begins by stating that the question of right and wrong is flawed from the beginning. The real question is “what does God want me to do?” He goes only a little further suggesting that if anyone could know the will of God, surely a professor of Theology would. While I can be confident that his statement is well-intended, the mere investigation of God’s will does not cause one to infallibly arrive at it. Countless wicked deeds have been done by men believing that they were within God’s will.
Conclusion:
While the extensive history of Bonhoeffer’s life was very helpful in allowing the viewer to understand his circumstances more holistically, I thought the account of actual wartime measures was lacking. The audience will surely understand how passionate Bonhoeffer was for peace but someone completely unfamiliar with his story might never understand the extent of the actual measures taken against the Nazi war machine. The war-time phase of his life seems to be the most significant and this documentary I feel has majored on the minors. I also had hoped for more primary source material on Bonhoeffer. As mentioned above, many historians and theologians presented their opinions as to the influence of his life but ironically Bonhoeffer's own opinions seem to be overshadowed by them. Furthermore, those interpretations regarding Bonhoeffer weigh heavily on a particular philosophy or life-view and were varied and unquestioned by the presenters.
Ultimately I did enjoy the documentary and I have a great respect for Bonhoeffer’s legacy. This documentary has greatly spiked my interest in this man (especially regarding his war-time theology) and I hope to study him further in the near future.
4 out of 5 stars
-Yates
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