Blind Spot - Hitler's Secretary (2002)

85% of critics liked it
(80 reviews)
66% of users liked it
(1,567 ratings)

Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary is a feature-length interview with 81-year-old Austrian Traudl Junge, who served as Hitler's personal secretary from 1942 to 1945, when she was in her early twenties. She saw Hitler in his everyday life, right up until his final days, and she witnessed, firsthand, the… More Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary is a feature-length interview with 81-year-old Austrian Traudl Junge, who served as Hitler's personal secretary from 1942 to 1945, when she was in her early twenties. She saw Hitler in his everyday life, right up until his final days, and she witnessed, firsthand, the collapse of the Nazi regime. After the war, Junge was "de-Nazified" by Allied forces as part of a program of amnesty for young people. She remained silent about her experiences for nearly 60 years, until she agreed to be interviewed by artist Andre Heller, whose own Jewish father escaped Austria as the Nazis came to power. Heller and documentarian Othmar Schmiderer edited ten hours of interview footage into the 90-minute film, which uses no archival footage, photos, or background music. It's just Junge describing her experiences on camera and occasionally watching the video playback of herself as she describes those experiences. Junge denies any real knowledge or understanding of what the Nazis were doing while she worked for them. She discusses how she was taken in by Hitler, who seemed fatherly and kind. She describes his personality. She goes into harrowing detail about the last days in the bunker. At times, she seems overwhelmed by her sense of shame at her own ignorance and naïveté. Presumably unburdened after decades of guilt, Junge passed away just hours after Blind Spot was shown at the 2002 Berlin Film Festival, where it won the Panorama Audience Prize. The film was also shown at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival, and the 2002 New York Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: André Heller, Othmar Schmiderer
Written By: André Heller, Othmar Schmiderer
Genres: Documentary, Art House & International, Special Interest

In Theaters: Oct 10, 2002 Wide
On DVD: Oct 28, 2003
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

Critic Reviews

Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel
You almost feel as if Satan's personal assistant had decided to pull up a chair and tell all. Is it possible not to be interested?
Gene Seymour, Newsday
Both a documentary and, for all intents and purposes, the last testament of a generation's tragic folly.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Both mesmerizing and disquieting.
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post
Isn't much of a movie, but it's a whale of a story.
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News
A footnote in the troubled history of the world. A footnote, yes, but a fascinating one.
Doris N. Truong, Dallas Morning News
The film's legacy is a poignant reminder of how Hitler's shadow still looms.
Kelly Vance, East Bay Express
A deceptively slender documentary that opens up enormous questions about guilt, forgiveness, and moral responsibility. It will stay with you.
Martin Scribbs, Mixed Reviews
The premise ... apparently so captivated SPOT's makers that they failed to notice the finished product's complete lack of insight.
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
It's not too often that one gets to have a conversation with someone who actually knew Adolf Hitler, let alone worked for the guy, but that's precisely what you'll find here.
Mark Robison, Reno Gazette-Journal
The documentary feels like raw footage for a better film.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Another testimony about the banality of evil.
Jurgen Fauth, About.com
Junge's regret for her own malleability is overwhelming, and it is difficult not to feel compassion for her.
Kevin N. Laforest, Montreal Film Journal
Interesting and worth seeing, but more like a news show segment than what I consider a film.
Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle
Makes us wonder, in a very human sense, about the various blinders we all adopt to make our peace with life.

Read all 14 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Stephen M

The great strength of this movie is its simplicity, the very thing which seems to put a lot of people off. There's no melodramatically intercut archive footage or stirring musical crescendos to manipulate ones emotions; its just an old lady, who happened to be an unwitting… More
The great strength of this movie is its simplicity, the very thing which seems to put a lot of people off. There's no melodramatically intercut archive footage or stirring musical crescendos to manipulate ones emotions; its just an old lady, who happened to be an unwitting eyewitness to epoch-making events, telling her story to the camera. I found it mesmerising and frequently chilling in its juxtaposition of banality and horror. For example, Traudl Junge tells of Hitler's fondness for his dog, Blondie, and his pride at the tricks she could perform, then later she describes how he killed the dog just to test the cyanide capsules with which he was planning to commit suicide. I found the ending, where a guilt-ridden Junge compares herself unfavourably with the executed pamphleteer Sophie Scholl, very moving indeed. This is a hugely important document and a fascinating companion piece to the marvellous "Downfall". Anybody who finds this film boring ought to be thoroughly ashamed of him/herself.