There seems to be a debate over whether this movie is really anti-Communist or not. Since the film never really talks about economics, redistribution of wealth, etc... and is about toltalitarian control over personal freedoms I see it as more anti-toltalitarian than anti-communist.
shareYes, it is anti-Communist. ALL Communist countries were totalitarian. Not all fascist countries were.
Spain had a Fascist government that did quite well for 40 plus years. If Spain had gone Communist in the 1930's it would have been a different story.
Communism's application everywhere has always been totalitarian, so saying that this film is "more anti-totalitarian than anti-communist" is like saying "this is more a fruit than an apple", which does not make any sense. Communism as it has always been applied is merely a red version of fascism.
I'll be even more blunt : Communism is red fascism.
Dreams of a "classless society" have always been the supposed goal of communism but never of any communist party, which all they want is more power and more control. All a communist party really wants is to remain indefinitely in the vestibule of the classless society, never really reaching it, because that way they would lose all power. Thus communism can never really work, at least not via people, parties, leaders and all the relevant political structures. Relying on the good intentions of people in power, trusting them they will do the right thing, is a supreme naivete and will only create monsters like Kim Jong-un.
Fanboy : a person who does not think while watching.share
Communism's application everywhere has always been totalitarianA lot of people would probably like to believe this but there are examples of where this is not true. There were plenty of libertarian communes in Catalunya and Aragon in the 1930s . Franco had them rounded up and most of their "leaders" - such as there were any - shot (read Beevor's book on the Spanish Civil War. He highlights at least two different applications of communism).
I'll be even more blunt : Communism is red fascism.This is also not true. Fascism and communism are pretty much exclusive of each other, though it is not fashionable to point this out. Communism is, by its nature, internationalist. It rather smugly assumes that eventually everyone will eventually see the light and convert to it. Fascism is 100% nationalist and militarist. Aggressively so. There is a multitude of other differences and fascism is known in many circles as a "third path" philosophy (read Kevin Passmore's book on fascism).
All a communist party really wants is to remain indefinitely in the vestibule of the classless society, never really reaching it, because that way they would lose all power.Oh dear. You have the bull by the tail here. I know this is what they teach in American schools but while there is some truth in it, it is factually wrong. Communism in its purest form does not even recognise governing elites. It recognises only the power of the people and despises elitism or rule by decree (remember Dennis the anarcho-syndicalist in Monty Python and the Holy Grail?). It recognises people's committees and self administration where everyone is involved because everyone has a stake in it. Anything else is not communism (whatever they espouse). Stalinism maybe but not communism.
It's not really anti-communist, per se. It's about the misery and unhappiness the totalitarian regime caused East Germany. To that extent, it could be about any police state.
--------------------------------
My God, it's full of stars!