Made under the Nazi regime, this very stylish film retells the history
of the Boer War in highly partial terms as anti-British propaganda,
blending historical fact insidiously with blatant falsification and
caricature. Essentially, the film achieves its effect by accusing the
enemy of Nazi crimes; the hypocrisy is ugly, but it's perhaps time we
extended a qualified recognition to the virtues of films like this. For
instance, Steinhoff subtly relates Kruger's loss of power to the role
of the film director himself, so that he becomes more and more the
passive object of the camera as his vigour seeps away. Needless to say,
the film's historical interest is considerable.
