The Analysis Of The Movie "The Nasty Girl" By Michael Verhoeven

Throughout the movie The Nasty Girl, protagonist Sonya Rosenberger investigates the events that occurred in her town, Pflizing, during the Third Reich. Though the film is fictional, it represents real historical events and Sonya’s story is based on the life of Anna Rosmus, who was Holocaust researcher born in Germany. One of the fictional scenes in the film that possibly happened in real life is when Sonya’s grandmother explains that during the Third Reich at the Catholic schools they were told to remove the crosses hanging up. Sonya’s grandmother then explains that she was involved in the first protest marches and was arrested but sent home because “she had ten children to care for.” An event like this shows the strict power that the Nazi’s had during this time period.

Another example of a fictional scene that could represent true events are the scenes explaining how Nathan Krakauer was placed in prison for going against the Third Reich and eventually sent to a labor camp. It is eventually revealed that Dr. Juckenack, Sonya’s current professor, and Father Brummel, both clergymen, sent him to the camp. Though many people thought Dr. Juckenack was a resistance fighter, his actions were just the opposite. This could have been a common occurrence during the Third Reich as the Catholic church encountered difficulties during this time.

In the film clear gender roles emerge throughout featured characters. For example. in the beginning of the film Sonya is a young, naïve student who is emotional and quickly falls for her school teacher. As she ages through the film and when she is shown is present day, she becomes confident, determined, and does not need anyone’s help. Due to her becoming completely immersed in her book, Sonya does not spend as much time taking care of the children or cooking and her husband is forced to take on this generally female role at the time. He becomes angered with this and says that her family is not her top priority and eventually leaves for Munich. Also, throughout the film the men that Sonya interviews exhibit traditional male gender roles. At first they do not take Sonya’s mission seriously and they will not give her any information.

One of the themes throughout the film is coming to terms with Nazi past and atrocities of war. Throughout Sonya’s research and interviews for her essay and book she learns about how people in her everyday life like her professor and Father Brummel were involved in Nazi Germany and how they sent a Jewish businessman to a labor or concentration camp. Due to her research, Sonya receives a lot of hate and backlash from the community and is directly targeted three times by men in masks with a brick being thrown into her car, bombs thrown into her house, and being physically attacked. Sonya is able to come to terms with how the Nazi’s affected her town but the majority of people in the film are resistant and want to cover up this time in history. The Zumtobel files that Sonya fights to see give her the ability to find out the truth and help the town come to terms with the past. In the end the truth is revealed, and Sonya helps to provide some closure and the town can finally move on.