Night and Fog brilliantly captured the concentration camps and stories from inside them in a way that, I felt, accurately represented the horrors that took place during the early 20th century. Without reenactments or interviews, the film could have lacked the intangible quality that causes viewers to connect with the film on a personal level.
I feel that in order to connect with viewers, many documentaries based on historical events rely on personal testimonies so that stories are accurately conveyed. Usually, documentaries based on history take on one of two characteristics: factual/educational or personal (based on eyewitness stories). Resnais managed to take on both characteristics without the help of interviews from survivors – a challenge that many documentaries cannot do.
The biggest factor that helped Resnais achieve this goal was the use of an unseen narrator coupled with modern day & war-time footage of the camps. Throughout these shots, a narrator tells stories from the times leading up to and during WWII when the camps were operational. The narrator is never seen, leaving the stories to stand for themselves and connect with the visuals being shown on screen. In Intro to Documentary, Bill Nichols explains that the narrator of Night and Fog, Jean Cayrol, is an Auschwitz survivor. This adds to the depth of narration, allowing the first-hand recollection of the details of the stories to shock the audience and draw them in. The details are gruesome and unbelievable. It is not easy to watch or listen to this film, and I believe that is what Resnais was aiming for – to shock the audience because sometimes I think many people forget the horrors of the concentration camps. The unbelievable truth that a society, a country, and ultimately the world, could let this happen. Combined with modern day footage of the camps, old photographs of the same camps are shown one right after the other. This editing strategy really allows the viewers to picture the camps as they were operational.
The second factor that Resnais chose in the editing process was the music. The music choice is not the norm for documentaries of this nature. The music is dramatic, and fast-paced at times, calling attention to it and causing the audience to really pay attention.
Bill Nichols. Introduction to Documentary, Second Edition (Kindle Location 2299). Kindle Edition.