MovieChat Forums > Wakolda (2014) Discussion > The Doctor's car is all wrong!

The Doctor's car is all wrong!


The film takes place in 1960, as we are informed at the beginning, yet the doctor is driving a 1965 Chevrolet Impala! Mengele must have been able to time travel.....

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I just read a review in the Miami Herald and they said the same thing about the car, I wonder how they missed that in pre production, if the film is good who cares, I love anything with a good Nazi villain.

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That's funny. I rather liked the car. It seemed to have its own character.

I'd guess that the filmmakers knew this discrepancy and used the car anyway. I'd also bet that finding an attractive/functioning 1960 proved to difficult. Even big budget Hollywood productions have to fudge on auto details sometimes, simply because there are no
useable relics left!

It's interesting info, but it definitely didn't detract from an otherwise fine movie. The fimmakers were probably hoping that other viewers would agree.

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Poor excuse - there are plenty of cars from pre 1960. I liked the film but it was a glaring mistake. My uncle had exactly the same car and the same colour. I did also notice that film had more of an early 70's feel than early 60's. The clothing and hairstyles were all about ten years off. I grew up in the early 70's and it definitely felt that the film should have been set in 1970 instead.

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deanocean1960 "Poor excuse?" Says someone who's never made a movie in his life. I guess you can tell all of us exactly where to find these classic cars? In Argentina?? I hope you're not your mother's smartest child.

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The best come back is personal insults you must be a troll.

The same way as the film makers found a 1965 Chevrolet in Argentina - there are thousands of classic cars through out South America for sale. Considering the high production values on this film - it is unlikely that it was a cost decision( a 1965 Impala in good shape is not cheap). Argentina is not some back woods nation - it has a long history of automobiles and automobile racing and production.
The fact that such a glaring mistake was made on a film with high production and artistic values makes the error that much more noticeable.
The film sets out the time frame as 1960 - clearly grounding the film in a set context - the car effectively plays a character in the film and stands out throughout the film.
Anachronisms are a common problem in films - both in character and physical objects - however, normally these errors are within the background or minor in scope. In the German Doctor the car is outside of its context creating a narrative paradox.

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Just because I'm insulting you hardly means that I'm a troll. It simply means that I'm insulting you.

I don't think anyone needed a reminder that Argentina is a civilized nation or the diatribe on the impact of anachronisms. I'm making fun of you because you insist that a classic Chevrolet is easy to find in Argentina, but you have absolutely no idea where to find one. You seem to think that just because a movie has high production values, it must have an unlimited budget and access to any car in the world. You also seem to think that because you grew up in the 1970s,
you're an expert on 1960s Argentinian fashion. In addition, you state that a movie based on an actual historical event that occurred in 1960 should be moved to the 1970s because of your expert fashion sense.

I'm not trolling, Deano, I'm simply saying that you don't know what you're talking about. And you're not looking any smarter by continuing to reply with illogical assumptions and poor punctuation.

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You are a troll. And you do a disservice to this fine film. It is in the category of Secret in Their Eyes that came out a few years ago.
I have noticed that you have taken to answering questions on the film in the forums - as if you know what you are talking about.
I made a point - that others have made - that the film is out of context. You rant off about me - instead of having a discussion you prefer a troll off.
Sadly - IMBD is filled with hacks like you - who think they are funny and witty mouthing off about others.
Yes the movie is good - the car is wrong - and you are still an idiot.

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If you can't take a little ribbing, you need to stop using internet forums, Whino.

Since you've read my other posts, you know that I previously compared this film to The Secret in Their Eyes among others, so you're obviously not scoring any points for original thought. I didn't "rant off" on you because you made a point: You never made a point to begin with. The OP made the point about the car. I found his point interesting. I gave a few possibilities for why the car was used. You said I offered a "poor excuse" and ranted on about how they should've been able to easily find a 1960 (because your uncle had one) - without any knowledge of the efforts made by the filmmakers, without any knowledge of the budgetary restrictions, and, clearly, without any knowledge of the art form. You're the troll here, deanocean1960.

By the way, the acronym is IMDB. It stands for Internet Movie DataBase (in case you're confused) and you're absolutely correct: IMDB is filled with hacks like me. In fact, there wouldn't even be an IMDB without "hacks" like me. I often answer questions on here because I work in the industry and I'm happy to share what I've learned. So, yeah, unlike you, I actually do know what I'm talking about.

The only disservice being done in this thread is the one you're doing to yourself. Reading your responses is like watching a blind hemophiliac in a room full of razors. Please, do us all a favor and stop the bleeding.

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You are a ranting idiot. The car is wrong - it does NOT belong in 1960...regardless of your rant against me - it is still wrong = anachronism. The film clearly states Patagonia 1960. There are other vehicles in the film that fit the time period - perhaps you did not notice that. There is no shortage of vehicles in South America that are pre-1960 - the film demonstrates this with the other cars.
No - seriously - are you such a baffoon that if someone disagrees with you - the best you can do is lame ass hyperbole. None of my arguments were directed towards you - rather the fact that a serious anachronism exists in The German Doctor.

For anyone else reading - the film although a narrative is semi- historical in dealing with Josef Menegel and his time in South America...specifically Argentina.
Although this is an excellent movie - it does undermine the film by using an object out of context. It then lends to questioning what other liberties the film makers took.
Anachronisms happen all the time in films - and the further time moves away from the setting the more difficult it is to maintain consistancy and authenticity of the period.
The choice of the car seems to have been deliberate - or perhaps a serious oversite. Simple solution would have been for the Menegel character to drive a VW. That would have kept the context and removed such a glaring mistake from the film.

Yes I know what IMDB stands for IMDB=you are an AHOLE!

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The fact that such a glaring mistake was made on a film with high production and artistic values makes the error that much more noticeable.


It's only a glaring mistake to the tiny percentage of the movie-going population that can tell the difference between a 1960 Chevrolet and a 1965 Chevrolet.



Don't give me songs
Give me something to sing about

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Corto Maltese is correct.

The vast majority of viewers wouldn't even notice, and of those that did, few would care. Its only smart arse car freaks trying to show off who bother to make a deal of it.

The rest of us don't give a *beep* about the car being a few years out.

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Corto is right, of course - it only sticks out like a sore thumb to a small minority of viewers.

I noticed it right away, then thought about it after a moment of bewilderment, and rewinding back to there the date is stated. I wondered if they made a conscious choice to do something so anachronistic. The car itself seemed to serve a function. Its tail- and stop-lights never worked properly, and being an old gearhead, I felt that its throaty exhaust system would not have been original equipment on that relatively sedate - though powerful - four-door sedan.

The pop song played in the first half of the movie when the German school employees are dancing, Lady Sunshine und Mr. Moon, is also out of place. I believe it was recorded in 1962.

I guess to create the feel they were looking for, the filmmakers took some liberties. Artistic license. I liked the film.

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Exactly. I agree -- in fact smart production designers say that they will go for cars and other details that are a few years OLDER than the actual date the film is set in as people tend not to have entirely new cars and wardrobes at any given time (in other words everyone would not have brand new 1960 cars in 1960).

Also, we are talking about a car from 1960 that was a very popular, mass-produced car. These cars are not hard to find, especially by film production companies. Downton Abbey had a vintage car from the 1910s that was used for filming; the actors even drove it during filming. I see cars from the 1950s being driven around here occasionally as there are a lot of car shows in our area. There are dozens of film production companies that specialize in props and design for historical films, and they have cars available from virtually every year of production, especially after mass-production allowed thousands and thousands of cars to be produced every year in 1918 and following.

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That's what you got from the movie, pathetic. Who cares about the car.



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Armagecko and deanocean1960 had me rolling. Man, that was a hilarious read. I'm actually crying and sweating from laughing. They were calling each other trolls for Pete's sake! And they kept going. It was like watching 2 cats in the street fight. Oh. My. God.

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Regardless of the model or year of the car, it was interesting to see it shining as new all through the movie. No dust, no rain, no mud. I was expecting the car to become a Christine of sorts, but hmmm that's a Plymouth. Maybe Mengele was experimenting with cars :)

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If you look at a 1960 Impala on the web, and find a nice red one, you will see maybe why the director didn't want that model year. As you mention, it might have been tempting to go toward the "CHRISTINE" angle, but Carpenter already covered that one beautifully. A 1961 red Impala looks awfully like a 1957 Plymouth Fury/Belvedere with those fins that can stretch from New Yaaaak City to Califana. The 1965 Impala will not be confused with such a car. Ever.

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Lol!!!

Sure the car is wrong.. but hell, I loved the look of it, and the movie too.

"They did so much *beep* with Italian women, they changed the bloodline forever.."

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Exactly. I noticed this from the beginning and found it distracting every time the car re-appeared. But otherwise I liked the film very much: nice, slow European-style pacing and emphasis on character.

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