Prisoner of Paradise

Prisoner of Paradise presented an interesting story which relied completely on the film's objectivity. German actor Kurt Gerron is a complex study in human behavior. Assigning him blame for the film he created for the Nazis is problematic, yet it is also impossible to see him solely as a victim. Many men before and after Gerron have seen pride become their fatal flaw. Gerron let ambition stop him from escaping Europe when he still had the chance and it likely played a factor in his decision to direct a Nazi propaganda film about the concentration camps. Maybe Gerron really believed that making the film would save his life, but he was well aware that the children he attempted to capture with smiling faces would shortly be shipped by train to their deaths. Surely he knew deep down that he was not far behind. Gerron's film victimized his fellow captives all over again by forcing them to be used as instruments of deception. His film was meant to show the world that the people who would later murder him were humane and compassionate. Gerron was not an evil man, and he was not a Nazi, but he was still capable of being swept into the madness, and for that he paid a price.