World War II will seemingly never leave public consciousness. For my entire life, TV, film, games, and books repeatedly plunged into the depths of the events of 1939-1945. From Wolfenstein to Inglourious Basterds, pop culture is obsessed with Nazis. People were even making movies about the Nazis during the time of the Nazis. Blondi is aware of this, featuring a scene of Hitler watching Charlie Chaplin’s classic work, The Great Dictator. Surely, we must ask if we are “scraping the bottom of the barrel” when making a movie about Hitler’s dog? However, Blondi is actually really good (and I don’t just mean the dog).
The story follows Hitler’s downfall entirely from the perspective of his German Shepherd. Literally! The camera is placed on the back of the dog actor, Lexie, and all of the scenes are filmed from this vantage point. We see Hitler from the height of the Reich to his final moments in the bunker. Interspersed with these scenes are documentary-style archive footage with some comedic narration on how dogs were treated in Nazi Germany.
The movie has a dark sense of humour, capturing extremes of both absurdity and true evil. Nicola Pedrozzi (In Brighton, Tears of Blood) does a great job of portraying Hitler, embodying both his cold, sociopathic side and leaning into the inherent comedy that the premise lends itself to. The idea of one of the most infamous dictators of the 20th century playing with his canine friend is fundamentally ridiculous, but also real. Hitler was an animal lover and a vegetarian. Seeing his interactions with Blondi highlights the fact that even he was capable of compassion. As painful as it is to admit, the Nazis were humans and considered themselves to be normal. They had families, hobbies and pets, and the film shows this side of the regime. This is a hard line to walk as there is always the potential of whitewashing their actions, but Blondi masterfully avoids this.
The film ends on a tragic note and reminds the audience of how self-centred and disloyal dictators are, even to those they claim to love the most. Blondi is a fresh, funny, but sobering look at one of modern history’s most notorious figures.
The 78th Edinburgh International Film Festival ran from the 14th to the 20th August 2025. Blondi screened as part of the Competition Shorts strand.
Press image provided by EIFF 2025 for press use.
