"Stukas" is a German movie that had its 75th anniversary last, so this one is from 1941 and this year in combination with Germany tells audiences with an interest in history immediately that this black-and-white sound film is a Nazi propaganda movie. It is one of the most known works by director and co-writer Karl Ritter and the cast also includes a handful actors that had careers also long after World War II, such as Raddatz and Hasse. I can't really say too much about the story and plot here as it was never interesting enough to truly make a lasting impression, but the most interesting thing about the film is once again the propaganda aspect and how they were depicting German soldiers, especially the fallen ones, as heroes who gave their lives for the Vaterland. And the concept of Stukas, i.e. Sturzkampfflugzeuge, namely planes that do most damage while they are literally torpedoing towards the ground or a target is very fitting as it is very close to suicide to be the pilot in such a plane. Also the ending is pretty telling when a German man realizes his only true destiny is to fight (and possibly die) for his country next to his fellow soldiers and not risk at home (even if he isn't healthy and well) while doing nothing that helps Germany. So yeah, it is a prime example of a propaganda film really, even if the message is more than simple and also more than despicable by today's standards. In terms of attention to detail or the story in here and the plot, it is an incredibly mediocre film. It is all about the pathos and with all the deficits in other areas I just cannot recommend seeing it to general audiences. Thumbs-down from me. Watch something else instead of these 1.5 hours.
Review of Stukas
