Louis Theroux

Louis and the Nazis is a documentary on Neo-Nazi life in California, made in 2003. In the documentary, Louis initially meets a few well-known members of the local Nazi community, then proceeds to interview them and follow their everyday lives, also interviewing some of their associates to gauge their views and the background and personal lives of the Nazis.

The film is in performative mode, as Louis is a definite character in the documentary, carrying out interviews himself, provoking the interviewees and giving his own opinion to them, almost coming across more like an inquisitive neighbour than a documentaryfilmmaker looking for answers. He even goes as far as to make fun of the Nazis at times, to their face or via narration, to add humour to the film and provoke them into reacting truthfully in front of the cameras, which they are mindful to act polite in front of.

Theroux also follows the Nazis around to a large extent, gathering footage of their personal lives, relationships, hobbies and personalities. He also theorises about the real opinions of the interviewees, often asking very intrusive questions and giving his real opinion on them. This is one way that he provokes the Nazis into showing their real personalities and behaviours, and also looks into their actual opinions, at one point claiming that he thinks one person is not a Nazi at all, asking persistent yes or no questions to show how deluded and on the fence they are.

Louis does not seek to get an entertaining film out of the Nazis. To add humour he adds his own insight and reactions to their opinions. He asks the questions he does to get the truth, often in the form of real opinions and reasonings, out of the Nazis, and this often leads to funny moments due to their awkwardness. He also narrates over the clips in the film to show the audience his train of thought, and guide them as to why he is asking such provocative questions. He also puts himself at danger at one point by refusing to be completely honest with the Nazis, showing how far he is willing to go to show the real people behind the Swatsika

I loved this film! I feet it was the perfect length for a documentary, with an easy to follow narrative and humour to alleviate the grim nature of the Nazi’s beliefs. It is entertaining and also gives useful information on the real views of such a controversial and explicit group of people. It is engaging and the pace is consistent, staying relevant on the subject matter and also giving helpful narration from Louis, who alone makes the film entertaining by giving his real views and often irritated reactions to their outrageous comments. I rate Louis And The Nazis 5 stars!