Slightly biased

How does "Night and Fog" deal with the feeling of guilt? Does the film exploit the audience's feelings? For instance, does it exploit the audience's feeling of outrage and sorrow?

Of course Night and Fog exploits the audience's feelings. I'm not sure if there can be a relatively normal response to the imagery in the film. Parts of the film were perhaps more obviously sardonically mocking Triumph of the will, in sort of a gruesome, ironic way. The subject matter being dealt with is revolting. Reading about it is one thing, but seeing footage provokes a pretty much immediate response. The way most of us were taught history angers me; we know the important facts and dates but not the surrounding story that puts everything in context. The film obviously makes us horrified and guilty for previous ignorance. I don't think people know how to deal with such explicit imagery. It's one thing to talk about it, but this pushes EVERYTHING that was going on in our faces. It isn't bad, it's one way to force everyone to become aware of it. There's so many complexities and atrocities and intricacies involved in the planning of concentration camps and Hitler's overall plan which unveiled in the film. None of the soldiers or Nazis claim responsibility, and the film ends on that note: then who is responsible? It's a pretty heavy bomb that is dropped on us while watching. It's good we all now know, but it was hard to stomach and watch it. The overall feelings we are left with are outrage and sorrow. I felt incredibly depressed and cynical and outraged, which meant it's objectives were completed. The film's intention was to get that reaction out of us, however, I don't know, we will all forever remember the scenes, but it gave us little or no hope to grasp onto. I'm Jewish so I know the history quite well but typically my family and extended family, we don't incessantly mourn about the Holocaust. The inhumanities and atrocities happened, but out of the whole thing created a stronger protection and sustainability for Judaism and stronger sense of dignity about the religion. The film almost makes it about pity and sorrow and outrage, and I think it would've been more effective if it left the audience on a lighter (close to impossible but maybe achievable) note. It is something to be outrageously offended and sickened by, and something no one should forget, and something we should learn about, but the film did exploit audiences feelings.