MY BEST ENEMY

(A.k.a. MEIN BESTER FEIND)

World War 2. In the opening scene, a German courier plane is shot out of the sky by Resistance fighters. Amongst its crew are two SS officers and the Jewish prisoner that they are escorting.

The film then backtracks to Vienna, in 1938. We focus on a small Jewish community, and in particular Victor (Moritz Bleibtreu). He works in one of his wealthy parents’ art galleries, largely oblivious to the changing political tides around him. That is, until kids start painting graffiti on his shop windows and giving him a kicking in the street, solely on account of his religion...

Victor’s best friend, Aryan Rudi (Georg Friedrich) arrives at the gallery one morning, fresh from a spell travelling the world. When a petty squabble with anti-Jew protestors lands the pair in prison, they are given the opportunity to catch up properly. Their bond is instantly reformed – to the point that Victor refuses to leave the cell when father Jakob (Udo Samel) pays his bail, until Rudi’s is also paid.

What Victor doesn’t realise at this point is that his old pal has spent most of his time away in Germany, where he has become familiar with the preaching of a certain Mr Hitler.

Back at Jakob’s luxurious family home, Victor and Rudi continue to enjoy each other’s company. It’s as if they’ve never been apart, such is the easy nature of the friendship between them. Victor is in fact ecstatic to have his old pal back in his life, even if Rudi does appear scornful of the pomp and ceremony that comes as part of his mate’s well-to-do lifestyle.

Even when it transpires that Rudi used to date Victor’s fiancé Lena (Ursula Strauss), their relationship doesn’t suffer. Not openly, anyhow – although Lena is quick to deduce that Rudi has taken to mixing with an unhealthy crowd.

Unfortunately the bond between the boys ultimately leads to Victor drunkenly entrusting Rudi with access to a secret room in his parents’ home, in which a priceless Michelangelo sketch of Moses is carefully stored. Fortunately, Jakob overhears this faux pas and makes provisions for when the Nazis inevitably come knocking on their door in pursuit of the sacred piece of art.

With his parents dragged away to a concentration camp and the realisation that his best friend has betrayed him, Victor has the small consolation of discovering that his father replaced the drawing with a fake.

However, the Nazis soon realise it’s a forgery too ... and order Rudi, by this time an SS officer, to take his Jewish pal to Berlin for further interrogation on the original’s whereabouts. En route, their plane is shot down from the clouds – bringing us up to speed with where the film started.

From there, the plot develops by way of switched identity and humour derived from misplaced racial hatred. An Austrian film deriving comic moments from such subject matter is an awkward, uncomfortable thing to behold.

Furthermore, it simply doesn’t work. Tonally, the film is totally schizophrenic. Is it a period drama? A human interest story? A political statement? A thriller? A black comedy? Ambitiously, director Wolfgang Murnberger wants it to be a little bit of each. Resultantly, the film comes across as being grossly confused.

On the plus side, it looks beautiful, thanks to handsome production values and the gorgeous cinematography of Peter von Haller. Evi Romen’s editing is crisp and professional, ensuring the plot races along at an agreeable pace.

The cast all deliver their performances proficiently, suggesting this film will play very well with European audiences who can stomach the strangely tasteless comedy. But MY BEST ENEMY works much better as a drama, and when it’s recalling the attractive yesteryear visuals of the likes of SLEEPERS and ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA.

Flawed in tone and hampered by an ill-conceived script from Paul Hengge, MY BEST ENEMY is nevertheless weirdly watchable at all times and aesthetically sound throughout. The final act is even, against all odds by that point, quite gripping.

The film is presented in anamorphic 1.85:1. While it appears to be correctly framed, it’s worth noting that the Internet Movie Database lists the original aspect ratio as being 2.35:1. The picture quality is superb: sharp, vivid and very film-like.

Audio comes in the original German language, in both 2.0 and 5.1 options. The latter is a well-crafted affair, proffering good up-front bass and reliable dialogue playback throughout. Forced English subtitles are well-written and mostly easy to read.

An animated main menu page leads into a static scene-selection menu allowing access to the film via 12 chapters.

The only film-related bonus feature is a 15-minute Behind The Scenes featurette. This consists of a lot of handheld on-set footage, along with rather earnest interview clips with Murnberger, co-producer Josef Aichholzer and principal cast members.

Metrodome’s disc opens with trailers for LEBANON, THE COUNTERFEITERS and DAYS OF GLORY, setting the tone for the main feature to follow.

MY BEST ENEMY gets a solid presentation on an otherwise basic disc from Metrodome.

Review by Stu Willis