I Is Another’ Movie Review: Claes Bang as Himmler

Claes Bang stars as Heinrich Himmler’s personal masseur, Felix Kersten, in I Is Another, a weighty cinematic meditation on a dark historical footnote. Directed with stark precision, the film examines the uneasy power dynamics and moral compromises of World War II through an intimate, psychological lens, exploring survival under the Nazi regime.

The cinematic landscape often chases deafening IP blockbusters and franchise reboots, but prestige historical dramas continue to find vital footing on the international festival circuit. I Is Another stands out precisely because it avoids easy moralizing, focusing instead on the claustrophobic corridors of power where ordinary men made extraordinary, terrifying bargains.

The Bottom Line

• The Premise: Claes Bang plays Felix Kersten, the Finnish-born masseur who used his physical proximity to Heinrich Himmler to save thousands of concentration camp prisoners.
• The Tone: A psychological chamber piece that trades bombastic war-movie tropes for a tense, atmospheric study of complicity and coercion.
• The Industry Context: Highlights the enduring market demand for sophisticated European co-productions that tackle complex historical figures without sanitized Hollywood framing.

Deconstructing the Power Dynamics of a WWII Footnote

History remembers Heinrich Himmler as one of the chief architects of the Holocaust, but the historical record also preserves the bizarre, transactional relationship he maintained with his physical therapist. Felix Kersten possessed a medical touch that reportedly eased Himmler’s debilitating stomach cramps, giving the masseur a unique form of leverage. I Is Another takes this verifiable historical curiosity and turns it into a masterclass in psychological chess.

Here is the kicker: the film refuses to paint Kersten as a conventional cinematic hero. Instead, it positions him in a moral gray zone, detailing how proximity to absolute evil forces a man to weigh every manipulated favor against the lives hanging in the balance. Claes Bang anchors this tension with a quiet, commanding stillness that rivals his breakout work in Ruben Östlund’s The Square.

Where Prestige European Cinema Meets Global Distribution Realities

In an era dominated by studio consolidation and algorithmic streaming acquisitions, films like I Is Another rely heavily on independent financing models and European film funds. While major streamers like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video occasionally scoop up high-end historical dramas for global distribution, challenging arthouse features often navigate a grueling festival-to-theatrical pipeline before finding their permanent digital homes.

Industry analysts note that while these titles rarely compete with tentpole box office figures, they hold immense value for platform curation and critical prestige. They drive subscriber retention among cinephiles who expect international depth rather than recycled comic-book narratives.

Film / Project Element	Primary Talent	Historical Focus	Distribution Landscape
I Is Another	Claes Bang	Felix Kersten & Heinrich Himmler	International Festival Circuit / Independent Sales
The Zone of Interest (Precedent)	Christian Friedel, Sandra Hüller	The Domestic Life of Rudolf Höss	A24 / Theatrical Platform Release

Recent box office history proves there is an eager, albeit niche, audience for unflinching examinations of the perpetrators of mass atrocities. Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest proved that contemporary audiences will embrace avant-garde historical discomfort if the filmmaking matches the gravity of the subject matter. I Is Another operates in a similar register, relying on atmospheric dread and stellar performances rather than graphic spectacle to make its historical points resonate.

The Road Ahead for Prestige Historical Dramas

As the international film market adjusts to shifting audience habits, the viability of mid-budget historical dramas depends entirely on strong word-of-mouth and critical validation. Claes Bang’s performance ensures that this particular WWII footnote will spark conversations well beyond the festival circuit.

How do you feel about cinema exploring the more obscure, psychologically complex corners of twentieth-century history, or are you fatigued by wartime narratives? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.