At the Locarno Film Festival, Felix Randau’s post-World War Two drama “I Is Another” premieres on the Piazza Grande, starring Claes Bang as Felix Kersten, a real-life massage therapist associated with Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler. The film is rooted in Kersten’s accounts of his wartime influence over Himmler, which Kersten claimed he used to intervene against plans that would have led to mass death. Variety and Deadline both describe Kersten as a controversial figure whose memoirs portrayed him as helping save numerous lives, but whose claims have also been disputed by others.
Deadline reports that Randau explains Bang’s casting as well-suited to portraying Kersten, emphasizing the actor’s ability to deliver a convincing performance. Variety similarly frames the story through Kersten’s contested legacy and the movie’s focus on his relationship with Himmler. Together, the coverage indicates the production presents a dramatised version of Kersten’s influence while acknowledging that historical interpretations of his role vary.
