The medium of film is capable
of bringing nuances of power to audiences, even when the story-world is steeped
in autocracy and totalitarianism. The Exception (2016) is
such a film, for in terms of power the film shows the relationship between the
Nazi government of Germany and (retired) Kaiser Wilhelm II in the Netherlands,
which has just been occupied by Germany. The Nazi officials represent the
state, whereas Wilhelm’s “soft” power stems from royalty. As Wilhelm’s attendant,
Col. Sigurd von Ilsemann, observes, no one is safe from Nazi reprisals, not
even Wilhelm and his high-brow wife. So he is not the exception alluded to in
the title in the sense of being exempt from raw Nazi power; the night of the
long knives demonstrated that no one is safe, even though the former king still
means a lot to the German people. The exception refers instead to Capt. Stefan
Brandt, and in particular to his moral scruples concerning the Nazi mass
murders in eastern Europe. As the story unfolds with a visit by Himmler,
Wilhelm becomes an exception in this sense too. Even in a totalitarian
autocracy, a surprising amount of soft power can exist in opposition.
The full essay is at "The Exception."