The Man with the Iron Heart is a 2017 Russian historical drama war film directed by Fedor Bondarchuk and written by Yuli Dunsky, based on the novel of the same name (Man With The Iron Heart) by David Pronin about World War II Soviet people’s struggle against fascism as seen from two perspectives: one German, one Russian.
It tells an unfiltered story of the collaboration between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia in WWII without any glossing over or justifying those crimes committed during this time period just because they are shared between capitalist and communist regimes.
The movie’s protagonist is Ivan Kuznetsov (played by Andrey Dementyev), an orphan born in 1937 who has grown up under Stalinist Russia. After his father dies in 1941, he is conscripted into working for the Germans against his will where he meets Andrei Vlasov (played by Pyotr Fyodorov) – a Red Army officer captured by Nazis and turned to fight for them. These two, who are initially enemies but later develop a friendship, go on to lead the Red Army troops in their fight against fascism.
The film stars Tom Schilling as the German agent, Fegelein, and Konstantin Khabensky as the Russian intelligence officer, Serebryakov. The story begins on June 1941 in Nazi-occupied Belarus where a Gestapo man named Hans Friedrich is trying to convince Soviet people that they are better off living under fascist regimes than communist ones by showing them what life would be like if he were not around.
In Germany in 1945 after Hitler’s suicide, Heinrich Himmler has taken control of Germany with all authority now consolidated into his hands. At one point during an audience with Martin Bormann (who had become head of state), he asks cryptically whether “the old Reich” will rise again from its ashes.
At one point during an audience with Martin Bormann (who had become head of state), he asks cryptically whether “the old Reich” will rise again from its ashes. We believe that this is a reference to the occult, and Himmler’s knowledge about Hitler being more than human and Nazi Germany eventually regaining power through supernatural means…
We believe that this is a reference to the occult, and Himmler’s knowledge about Hitler being more than human and Nazi Germany eventually regaining power through supernatural means – which might be what lead him in 1945 to release some of his most important prisoners like Josef Mengele so they could continue their work away from Berlin. This also leads us into our next section: the Ahnenerbe Society.
While researching for Man with Iron Heart, we found out about Heinrich Himmler’s fascination with the ancient past (he had an entire room dedicated to artifacts excavated from pre-Christian European sites), as well as how he sponsored expeditions all over Europe looking for evidence of the “pure” Germanic race that would prove their superiority (and to make sure they could be defeated and eradicated).
We believe we can see this fascination play out in Man with Iron Heart, as Himmler takes an interest in a white-skinned boy who is living deep within enemy territory. He sends two SS officers on a mission to bring back proof of Hitler’s Aryan bloodline by finding his descendants.
Fitzek also has some very modern ideas about heroism – one character talks about how he doesn’t care for what’s best for him or her but rather “what”s right”. It seems like Fitzek might not just want us to rethink Nazi Germany through history books and stories, but to empower us with a new way of looking at the world.
Man with Iron Heart is by far one of the best action movies in 2017 and I highly recommend it.
