The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl

Ray Müller searched in vain for a false humility in Leni Riefenstahl that was meant to have cleared her in the eyes of the German nation. Fortunately, he gave her ample opportunity to explain to the whole world the context that was forgotten after 1945. Even so, the resulting documentary is not a complete look at the life and work of Leni Riefenstahl, a personality with such a strong artistic sense that she was regularly thrust into life-threatening situations. In the beginning, it was just the strong will of an ambitious dancer who magically became the star of Dr. Arnold Fanck's mountain films. Then, she just as easily moved on to other professions in her century-long life. She was at her peak during the Third Reich, a fact that is unforgivable. Ray Müller tries his best to derail Leni, to get her to argue, but she has been answering the same questions for half a century, so it is somewhat surprising that an ordinary woman is behind the point of this huge case. Yet in the eyes of the 20th century, she is a woman who provokes. A woman who does not hesitate to risk her life for art and to engrave her skills for a perfect result. But she is also a woman who married after 40 and a woman who spent the second half of her life with a partner who was 40 years younger. It is thus unfortunate that The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl skips some chapters of this great story and is more emotionally driven. There is not enough information about the transition from silent to sound film and Day of Freedom is completely unaddressed. It is, therefore, necessary to continue the topic through her complete filmography and other documentaries, and to read and read and read. (04/03/2009)