My Enemy’s Enemy (Kevin Macdonald, 2007): France / UK

My Enemy’s Enemy, a documentary on the infamous Klaus Barbie, serves as a perfect example of what nonfiction cinema should be. Director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland), returns to his true cinematic love, the documentary. This film isn’t just a close inspection on the life of Klaus Barbie. It delves further into his position in history and how we the United States, took advantage of his evil talents in order to fight the Communists. Shown at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, I would recommend this movie to anyone with an interest in documentary films, or the Second World War.

We are introduced to Barbie, as a young German boy. We learn about his upbringing and the intensity of the Nazi torture/interrogation training he went through to gain the position he had. Following him through his horrific war crimes in Lyon France, all the way to South America once the war had ended. While captured multiple times, Barbie always managed to escape. Eventually establishing a militant life in South America.

Macdonald makes it clear that there are two focuses of his film. The documentary serves to educate the viewer on not only the life of Nazi monster Klaus Barbie, but also the more than questionable behavior belonging to United States. Instead of turning over the war criminal to the French government, the CIA exploited him for his own knowledge of communist East Germany.

With an excellent journalistic approach, My Enemy’s Enemy is everything a documentary should be. It does not rely on cheesy reenactments but rather a plethora of credible and educated sources providing first hand chilling stories. Some of the most disturbing dialogue came from Barbie’s own daughter and her absurd denial. If you are a fan of documentary film, or even just a history buff, you will undoubtedly enjoy this film.