The 1955 artistic French documentary short film Nuit et Brouillard (Night and Fog) by Alain Resnais is showing on Mubi. The film deals with the holocaust, detailing the progress from the rise of the Nazis, the deportation process, the construction of concentration camps and the life of the prisoners in contrast to the camps staff and aspects of torture, humiliation and mass murder. It was released only ten years after the liberation of the camps and its name derives from the German term Nacht und Nebel that was used by the Nazis as a name for a directive by Adolf Hitler for forced abductions, deportations and killings.
The film features black and white archival film and photographic footage produced by the Nazis themselves and coloured film material shot on site of the concentration camp in the 50s. It is presented as a video essay with a thought provoking off-monologue written by French Poet Jean Cayrol, which is read by actor Michel Bouquet while a music score was composed by Austrian Hanns Eisler. The film is striking and focused with strong images and structure and excellently written.
Here are some further comments on the film by documentary filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer (The Act of Killing, 2012 / The Look of Silence, 2014).