While I couldn’t resist the curiosity of watching Melania on Amazon Prime for free—as anyone might be curious about what a well-shot documentary on the inauguration of an American president looks like—I found myself inevitably comparing it to Triumph of the Will, Leni Riefenstahl’s far more brilliant film about the rise of Adolf Hitler at the 1934 Nuremberg Rally. I can hardly recall another feature-length documentary centered on the ascent of a world political figure since Riefenstahl’s artful and controversial propaganda masterpiece—one that won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival before later being widely denounced.
Whether you like Trump or not, making a documentary about becoming American president from the First Lady’s point of view is a brilliant marketing move. Trump is already a reality TV star. Melania is essentially a highly budgeted reality-TV feature, punctuated by popular American pop songs every few minutes. The sync rights for the featured songs cost millions. Only a tiny fraction of viewers will likely grasp the irony that the film is directed by a figure of enormous stature who was himself #MeToo-ed: Brett Ratner.
Watching Melania, I kept thinking: what is Trump trying to say to us, the global audience? I was surprised that there was not an ounce of MAGA in the documentary—something that usually turns non-Trumpers off. At one point Melania says, “As an immigrant…” and it dawned on me that this documentary functions as a propaganda piece aimed at non-Trumpers, suggesting that Trump and Melania are just like you and me.
Perhaps the most truthful and standout moment in the documentary comes right after Trump is sworn in, standing beside Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. After the ceremony, he kisses Melania and simply walks off. It is Barron Trump who stays behind to shake hands with Biden and Harris. In an odd way, that moment made me feel better as a viewer—seeing a glimpse of class and humanity within the family.
