One of the buzziest films to debut at the Berlin International Film Festival was Iron Sky, a schlocky Finnish film about Nazis who hide on the moon after losing the Second World War, where they wait for their chance to exact revenge on the Allied victors. According to the BBC, “Added to the farce is a US President with more than a passing resemblance to former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, and a navy cruiser called the USS George W Bush.”
Sounds funny, right? Does the fact that it’s the most expensive film in Finnish history add to the hilarity? Is it funny that members of the international press claim that the film might be evidence of Germans finally putting their Nazi past to bed? The director of the movie, Timo Vuorensola, said, “I’ve never said that National Socialism, Nazi history and Nazis are a joke, they are the most horrendous part of European history ever. But what I believe is that one of the important weapons to fight Fascism, reign of fear, is to fight it with the one thing that diminishes fear — that’s to laugh.”
There’s something pretty absurd about all of this. I don’t mean that in the most obvious way: “Oh, Nazis on the moon, that’s silly.” But the notion that this film can in any way heal wounds, or act as a sign of wounds healed, is no less absurd than believing that you see the visage of Christ in a burned piece of toast. Melodrama without subtlety, humor without irony — these are less signs of having achieved some kind of reconciliation and understanding, and more of frantically waving a white flag before sinking into an oceanic forgetfulness.
The film debuts in Finland and Germany next month. Negotiations are underway for an American release. Here’s a preview of your Christ-toast:
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