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Night and Fog (Nuit et Brouillard)

© John Nesbit

Multiple meanings can be attached to the title of Alain Resnais' landmark Holocaust documentary, Night and Fog (Nuit et Brouillard) . Taken literally the "night" refers to the darkness that the deportees arrive in, but it can also refer to the certain death that most are condemned to or to the secrecy of the horrors. The "fog" implies ambiguity-a cloak that makes the ultimate fate of some deportees uncertain and allows the world to deny responsibility for what happened during the Holocaust by claiming ignorance.

Night and Fog is a short 30-minute documentary that begs to be viewed. Once seen-the images (coupled with the provocative narration) will haunt for a lifetime.

Indeed, this is a film that I showed to my high school classes over the years that provided an impact that reading about the Holocaust could never supply. It must be handled with care at this young age (or any age for that matter), and I had to prepare my students for the uncensored brutality that they would witness during the final minutes of the film and warn them before the really "gross" scenes in case they had to avert their eyes.

Take note: this film can cause nightmares.

If you've visited one of the concentration camps or have visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. or in Jerusalem, you should be equipped to handle the brutality that the film will reveal. If you've seen Mein Kampf, The Sorrow and the Pity, Schindler's List, or Sophie's Choice, consider that these serve as "gentle" narrative background information to help you survive the impact of Night and Fog. For the more recent narratives are like complex meandering novels that contrast with the poetry of Renais' work.

Night and Fog begins very peacefully-lyrically surveying a pastoral countryside nearly ten years after the end of WWII. But this is no ordinary countryside-we are in Poland following the railroad tracks that lead directly into Auschwitz. Michel Bouquet matter of factly narrates in French as the English subtitles ask questions like "what horrors have these silent tracks witnessed?" Even if you don't think a subtitled movie is for you, the visuals communicate far more and you'll soon forget that you're watching a foreign language film. (I don't remember any of my high school students complaining about the language even though some of the white subtitles on light backgrounds are difficult to read).

Soon enough the greens and browns of the idyllic countryside transition to black and white artistic collages of archive footage that we can thank the Germans for. Some of these scenes have been seen in other documentaries about the Holocaust, but (except for the scenes taken from Triumph of the Will) they are used for the first time in Night and Fog. Continually we have the relentless narrator explaining historical facts that have been gleaned from meticulously kept German records.

The copyright of the article Night and Fog (Nuit et Brouillard) in Foreign Films is owned by Jennifer A. Wickes. Permission to republish Night and Fog (Nuit et Brouillard) in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.