Jay Rohr
A Forgotten Man reminds the audience that decisions in dark times are rarely simple. Yet, even assuming the best intentions, choices have haunting consequences. Thanks to compelling performances, this historical drama captures the gravity of being on the wrong side of history, regardless of the reason. A Forgotten Man presents the past as a black hole, inescapable yet oddly easy to hide in the shadows.
At the close of World War II, with the Nazis defeated, Swiss diplomat Heinreich Zwygart is finally able to leave Berlin. However, he does not return to the hero’s welcome he expects. For years, he’s been at the forefront of the Swiss government’s appeasement plan, quietly collaborating with the Nazis to avoid turning the German war machine towards Switzerland. Along the way, that’s allowed various industrialists to profit enormously. It has also meant doing nothing while innocent people suffered and died. Home at last, no longer under the SS-Ehrendolch so to speak, Zwygart is forced to contend with the weight of his decisions. All of which threaten to crush him.
A Forgotten Man is marvelous in its dialogue. Not simply what is said, but the way lines are delivered makes moments intriguing. That’s because certain conversations carry a great deal of implication. It’s possible to understand relationships based on the way characters interact as well as glean what government officials don’t want to talk about. Thankfully, Michael Neuenschwander’s compelling portrayal of Heinreich Zwygart makes it easy to perceive when others are talking around a thorny topic.
When information is bluntly delivered, it’s done concisely. A Forgotten Man never beats the audience over the head with the points it wants to make. Overall, exchanges tend to be more subtle even when they do get to a direct point. As such, characters are often saying more than the obvious content of their lines.
The movie is based on the play “Der Gesandte” by Thomas Hürlimann. Some of these theatrical roots are apparent in the film’s presentation. Given the way the main story takes place in only a few rooms, it’s easy to see how A Forgotten Man would work on stage. However, director Laurent Nègre does a decent job of adding some cinematic flare to keep things engaging. Dynamic angles and an intriguing color palette are the most obvious. But there’re also closeups on certain items, allowing the audience to share a character’s focus such as when Zwygart observes old photos.
Although the film is black and white, that choice oddly adds to the overall themes. This is a movie about moral choices as well as confronting the past. The decisions made seem to be black and white, yet that color tone sometimes muddies into a silvery grey. Perhaps it’s not the most subtle stylization, but A Forgotten Man is peppered with moments containing a certain melodramatic poetry. They don’t undercut the seriousness of situations so much as highlight thoughts and moods.
Historical dramas can sometimes suffer from an audience’s unfamiliarity with the surrounding events. Providing details while simultaneously alluding to their significance can risk a slog through expositions dumps. Fortunately, A Forgotten Man deftly recounts historical details in a way that furthers the story without slowing things down. At risk of spoilers, Zwygart is haunted by the ghost of a young man, whose identity and significance are eventually revealed. In a way, not knowing all the facts going in leads to a degree of mystery resulting in a shameful confession when the truth comes out.
The closing acts of the film do suffer from a tendency to dump information more than explore character reactions. It’s also unfortunate that the story shifts into a tale of isolation. Despite the quality of Michael Neuenschwander’s performance, A Forgotten Man becomes simply watching one man spiral downward. What starts as a collective confrontation of Swiss complicity in Nazis atrocities steadily involves fewer voices. The initially morally complex narrative about a person making the wrong decision for what may’ve seemed the right reasons, such as sparing the country from war, soon becomes a quiet shaming.
Still, that may be a matter of debate for audiences willing to take this heavy journey. A Forgotten Man is by no means a casual viewing experience. It asks the audience to grapple with very serious moral dilemmas and consider the decisions made, not in an abstract, but with the potential consequences in mind. It’s easy to take a hypothetical stance against horrendous villains when those choices won’t result in real death and destruction.
What makes the trek through this thorny topic engaging are the performances by the cast. Michael Neuenschwander carries much of the film as Heinreich Zwygart. It’s easy to comprehend the strain beneath his crumbling composure as the weight of consequences crush him. Peter Wyssbrod is equally engaging as Heinreich’s father, the curmudgeonly Colonel. The role is an excellent example of that previously mentioned dialogue and delivery which says so much without saying anything directly. Cléa Eden as the daughter Hélène Zwygart is wonderfully carefree in a way that seems to unintentionally support her father’s actions. For her the war was this distant thing that never really touched her life, and this abstract sense of it is clear in Eden’s youthful optimism about the future.
The only role that suffers is Clara Zwygart. Make no mistake, Manuela Biedermann is wonderfully expressive. She says as much with her eyes as a sentence can. However, A Forgotten Man borders on being a forgotten woman given how little dialogue she gets. Her lack of characterization highlights how very few roles other than Heinreich are explored with any depth.
A Forgotten Man is not a lighthearted watch. Yet, those willing to risk the grim weight of this historical drama’s moral exploration will find a caution as well as a condemnation. Writer-director Laurent Nègre’s adaptation doesn’t always do much to escape the story’s theatrical origins. However, some cinematic flair adds a bit of melodramatic poetry, keeping the film from feeling too dry. A Forgotten Man hits theaters April 12th.
