Night and Fog
Night and Fog is a documentary made in 1955 and released in 1956. It is a 32-minute long film directed by Alain Resnais, featuring a German concentration camp set in Poland during World War II. The film was shot 10 years after the camp was abandoned but it also contains the footage from the times of WW2. Throughout the film, the shots switch between the chaotic scenes when the camp was still functioning and the peaceful scenes later on for the purpose of letting the audience realize the trauma that war brought to this land. With the comprehensive narrative and sometimes serious music, the audience can have an immersive journey with the narrator. I was impressed with the editing techniques, unique narrative style, and graphic nature. All that came to support the purpose of the film. It is to remind the audience of the cruelty of the war and people should not forget history; moreover, it is to let people from future times remember this piece of history and maybe prevent this from happening again.
The documentary features a German Nazi concentration camp constructed during World War II, and soonly after it became a human hell for the prisoners. They were suffering from excessive labor, serious starvation, and eventually, most of them were murdered cruelly. The narrative offers a thorough and comprehensive walkthrough of the events that happened.
The story of the documentary follows a general plot flow, meaning it has an introduction, progression, climax, and ending, but it is the use of flashbacks that made the film unforgettable. The plot starts with the footage of the camp at current times, with peaceful landscapes and light music. The director meant to surprise his viewers when the narrator came up with the words: “Blood has dried”. Then, throughout the whole film, the footage of both current and previous times are combined while progressing through the story. The title of the film night and fog is explained when the scene turns from day to midnight, the time when the prisoners were transported to the camp. It is an accurate metaphor and foreshadowing representing the tortures the prisoners will suffer. However, the film did not show the massacre upfront, instead, it follows a chronological order. This will give the audience a more immersive experience. Thus, the film began by introducing the camp’s background, its types, and how it was built. Then, it was cut to the scenes where the prisoners were suffering from starvation, illness, and loads of labor. And by the end of the film, the footage of the great massacre was shown and the plot reaches its climax. Prisoners were either killed by the poison gas or bullets. The bodies will be burnt down to ashes to “save space”. All these are meant to call for viewers’ sympathy and specifically anger, to accomplish the film’s expectation: to never forget the bloody history. In addition, to accomplish the purpose of summoning emotional response, the narrative of the film has done its excellence.
The music and the voice-over narrative have served a lot to the success of the film. The narrator’s voice throughout the whole film sounds calm and methodical, making the footage more realistic to the viewers. When the footage of the prisoner building is presented, the narrator’s voice sounds both sad and sarcastic when he says “useless to describe what went on in these cells”. Moreover, near the end of the film when the commander and other officials of the German Nazis were asked about the concentration camp, they all replied: “not my responsibility”. Such narratives additionally brought up viewers’ anger and help achieve the film’s objective. The music within the film also sticks with the narrative. When the scene turns to current and peaceful times, the music sounds light; however, when the plot gets more serious, the music became moving and tragic. Interestingly, the music occasionally stops when the narrator is elaborating on the facts of the story. This helps the viewers to concentrate more on the narrator’s voice instead of being distracted by the background music. All these narratives from the film are reminding the viewers of all times of the tragic history that has happened. And it is calling everyone to remember the taught lesson. Besides the plot and the immersive narrating, the graphical image of the film is the most notable feature of the film.
One of the advantages that the film possesses over the radio or newspaper is that it allows the viewer to realistically experience the event by showcasing camera shot footage. And Night and Fog has accomplished great success by using this feature. Throughout the whole film, explicit images and uncensored footage are occupied every minute. In the beginning, when the film is introducing the German Nazis, footage of Hitler’s speech and the military’s marching toward is shown. This gives the viewers a direct sense of what occupies all this craziness. And when the camera turned to the walk through of the camp, the viewers are able to experience themselves what it feels like to be quarantined. When the audience witnesses the scene where the prisoners were being tortured and killed, they have the most immersive experience since the footage is considered raw and realistic. Nothing is censored throughout the film and it was the producer’s choice of keeping everything as realistic as possible for the sake of the true history. The mentioned footage of the German officials denying their responsibilities became infuriating because it feels like they are lying to the viewers’ faces. The footage becomes more explicit as it progresses. Footage of women’s hair stacking up like a mountain, and tons of skulls were placed on the ground, waiting to be buried are shown in the latter part of the film. These not only catch viewers’ feelings but also help them understand the cruelty of the German Nazis.
In conclusion, the film reached its success by presenting realistic and unedited footage to the viewers and by recalling the audience’s emotional response. The comparison between the current and the previous footage further makes the viewers realize how much damage the war can bring to humans. In addition, the narrator’s calm voice and comprehensive narrative are well structured in the film along with the suited background music. The audience is able to become fully aware of the information within the footage. Last but not least, the explicit images throughout the whole film not only help create an immersive experience for the viewers but also made them realize how much damage German Nazis brought. Night and Fog is a documentary that went beyond its purpose. It can be seen as a documentation of true history; moreover, it is a lesson that prosperity will always keep in mind.
This film has considerably inspired me for my master project along the semester since I am also working with the theme of unstoppable time and history. I have combined the technique of storytelling and plot setting within my film: Why We Shouldn’t Time Travel. I am elaborating on the idea of never forget history, and further more, I aim to tell my audience that we are not able to change history whatsoever, but we can learn our lessons and change the future.