I just consumed a pilot for a show which I have been waiting for. That show is the 'The Man in the high castle.' Based on a book of the same title, the show rotates around the premise of the world had Nazi Germany won the second world war. The pilot grasps that subject with both hands and throws you into the streets of post-war and a take on the life which has formed. So much of the world shown is almost noticeable yet vastly altered. The makes great a fine sense of the small, large and strange normalised ways change has entered the world. Alongside more 'in your face' images you would never believe you could ever see such as the infamous time's square infiltrated by Nazi advertising. I use the word advertising because of propaganda because it's a world where time has converted propaganda to plain old advertising and the concept is fascinating and your mind is constantly grabbing onto the unfamiliar yet not dissimilar world. The hybridity of that such as seen in Sheriffs driving around in Nazi uniform like it was always that way is endlessly interesting.
Opening with "You want your country back? You never had it." and the introduction of young people sets up that context for the whole show where we are then introducing to several characters which convey the people who are dissatisfied and uncomfortable of the situations which the world have found itself in. Martial artts Juliana and brief, but sweet in the hysterical hope for 'the reason' Trudy and their scenes are an open door to the general feeling. Juliana and Trudy seem like characters from the period - who we all know so well from depictions from that time are those, but injected with something else which has never existed and live within the characters which make them incredibly odd, and fantastic to see it.
Characters like Ed and Frank analysing Hitler's health on the television with quips like "How much longer do you think he's got?" is charming to watch and the humour and commentary is rife in the pilot. Juliana's mother in front of a game show which features Browncoats looking upon the camera and gleaming, being clapped by dropping that they had been in the hitler youth is not only satirical but shows just how far the actual war is becoming in a world that has spread and continues to be submitted to a reality from something which is becoming removed and legendised almost like it is today and creates a strong parallel.
What happens to Trudy in the pilot is a sad reminder of what the world would be, and Julianna acquiring the film and the scene which it leads to where she is faced with the footage of British and affiliated countries winning the war which she plays over and over is a version of events nobody has been witness to is so powerful. The shots of the scene and the slightly industrial feel to the sets in general are very atmospheric and feed into the narrative.
It's good to see Joel de la Fuente (Hemlock Grove), sinister as ever and good at it on the heels of Trudy and Julianna and Frank caught in the middle. Brutal storytelling of Julianna leaving Frank behind enforces the no need to even question anything which might change anything. One of my favourite scenes is of the bus which transports the destination Trudy was meant to go to. Implications of the bus and who rides it is very moving and resembles discrimination which exists in this world without the Nazi regime surviving. There often seems to be a comparison to be made.
The Japanese influence on the states is really engaging and exposes the fragility of Nazi rule. But then again, in the pilot we are also presented with the opaque permanence of Hitler's vision with scenes of Joe on the road, witnessing remnants of hospitals burning unfit patients and details such as Buddy Stuart's 'Angry words' playing on the radio. 'Angry words lightly spoken' in a passive-aggressive drawl links itself to people stifling their voices and to stay that way.
There's something really scary and really riveting about witnessing German boots hitting the floor of streets after 1945. The characters are great and the twist concerning Joe in the last moments of the pilot gives a jump-start to something which I'm excited to get to delve into it more and discover what else can become of the world where the worst possible outcome. It floats well, and there's nothing deeply unrealistic about the crisp imagining of an alternate history. Not to mention I love the recurring slogan of the 'The grasshopper lies heavy' on the film reels. I love that it's set in San Francisco. I love it.
Check out the trailer for yourself here:
Pilot now available on Amazon Prime.
