We’re perhaps used to certain kinds of war movies. Boots on the ground, violence and trauma, the experiences and perspectives of those who fought; many superb, deeply moving films have followed this path. However, this is only a part of the picture, and other approaches are out there still, waiting to be explored.
This brings us to A Forgotten Man (2022), a film where arguably, the title itself suggests one of those as-yet unexplored approaches. The film begins where World War Two ends, though it’s important to accept that wars never end neatly. This is key to what follows here. It is 1945; Berlin burns; Hitler is dead, and the victorious Allies must now pick over the bones of Europe as they try to establish peace. After seven years in Nazi Germany, Swiss ambassador Heinrich Zwygart (Michael Neuenschwander) decides to get back to his native Switzerland as quickly as possible. By May, he is home, with news of the changing situation in the country he left behind filtering through to him still, via the radio. Switzerland is, by comparison, ineffably calm, but Zwygart is nonetheless sick with nerves to be making the switch from his old role back to family man and, if he can play it right, someone whose professional past can still usefully protect him and his loved ones. It is a happy, if sometimes difficult reunion with those he hasn’t seen in the best part of a decade.
Nonetheless, Switzerland’s neutral stance didn’t come about by accident; it was the result of challenging, personally compromising diplomacy, in which Zwygart, as chief ambassador, figured significantly. Switzerland’s unique peace, enjoyed while the rest of Europe (and beyond) suffered through the second catastrophic war in thirty years, had been neither uncomplicated nor accidental. It’s soon clear that, within the remit of his home, Zwygart disagrees hugely with his elderly father on the role of diplomacy vs the military; Zwygart’s daughter’s new boyfriend (Yann Philipona) is an unfamiliar, unwelcome, watchful presence too. There is also a lot of sympathy for the Nazis in Zwygart’s social circle, given Switzerland’s pro-Germany stance. Clearly, the situation here is a tightrope of reputation management, sharing out the spoils of war, and a certain necessary level of subterfuge. Zwygart’s new role will be on the Federal Council – a position of influence in its own right – but it doesn’t change the fact that money and cronyism will likely impact on his conduct. A full German surrender, we glean, would be deemed disastrous by many of his wealthy associates. It’s another issue to navigate.
Similarly, the sudden new uptick in Zwygart’s fortunes – as much as it seems likely to cause him all manner of difficulties – also belies the fact that he’s a man haunted by his past. One face in particular repeatedly comes back to him, and as an important diplomatic ball approaches, we steadily come to understand what this person represents.
A Forgotten Man is not a flashy, broad-in-scale examination of WWII, or of its immediate aftermath Instead, it’s a subtle and solemn film, paying meticulous attention to a small corner of history (Zwygart is not a real historical figure, but his character is closely based on that of Hans Frölicher, the real Swiss diplomat to Germany at the time). It’s an intimate story, which keeps the knottier, more turbulent details at its edges; the film’s true drama is in its minutiae, though it never feels exactly detached from the bigger picture all the same. There are some similarities to Arthur Miller’s All My Sons here; it’s a similar story of a man desperate to keep the horrors of his war experience buried, in order to prioritise his immediate world, even where this means a certain level of ‘not seeing’ what war entails.
Shot in black and white with lots of striking chiaroscuro, A Forgotten Man is a very stylish film, rich too with symbol and hint. Not everything is expounded, and it doesn’t need to be. Sombre, humane performances underpin the film throughout, with especial mention to Neuenschwander. Via his performance, Zwygart remains a plausibly contested, ambiguous character; there’s space for guarded empathy here, as a picture develops of someone in a horrendous situation, now desperate to resume some sort of normality whilst powerful forces roil around him.
The film’s approach may be subtle, but it is still emotionally brutal. Fans of understated historical drama, or indeed anyone interested in an underexplored kind of war story, will be impressed by A Forgotten Man. It is quietly devastating.
A Forgotten Man (2022) will be released in UK cinemas on 10th November 2023.