Blogpost by Jan Bartelmetz Fighting the Nazis with a guitar?: On the portrayal of jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt in Étienne Comar's film Django (2017)

Published on 15.01.2026.

Jean, known as ‘Django’, Reinhardt was probably one of the most prominent jazz guitarists in the world during his lifetime. With his fast, virtuoso playing style and his compositions, he fascinated a wider audience than almost any other musician of his time from the 1930s to the early 1950s. With almost 1,000 recordings to his name, he was a fixture on the European jazz scene and established himself as a celebrated star in Paris (cf. Lie 2022, 112). Numerous contemporary musicians have also paid tribute to Reinhardt's achievements in their works (including Nelson 2015). Reinhardt also appears in various films (albeit mostly not as a central character) (including Allen 1999) and even inspired his own graphic novel (cf. Rubio/Efa 2020). However, as someone who belonged to the Sinti and Roma minority in Nazi-occupied France, he was also at constant risk of arrest and deportation during his lifetime (cf. Lie 2022, 112). The 2017 film “Django” by French director Étienne Comar deals with precisely this critical phase in Django Reinhardt's life (Comar 2017).  

However, this biographical work does not focus solely on Reinhardt's life (cf. AlloCiné) but also pays particular attention to the systematic persecution of European Sinti and Roma during this period. Right at the beginning of the film, we ware witnesses to the murder of a family on screen – a kind of prelude, right before the subsequent plot focuses more on Reinhardt's life and personality. Comar thus deals with both, Django`s biography, and the persecution of Roma in Europe (Comar 2017). Against this background, I will analyse the figure of Django Reinhardt and his role within the movie in more detail. The overarching question is to what extent the director portrays Django Reinhardt as a heroic figure (a rather rare role in cinematic representations of Roma so far, cf. Roth 2012: 241–243), and I will discuss what specific characteristics shape his portrayal. According to the definition in the film encyclopedia of the University of Kiel, a hero is "a positively portrayed protagonist with above-average abilities and virtues who is also the center of attention [...]; the hero is simultaneously the main character, protagonist and moral center of the film. Often enough, he [the hero] suffers through a transition and must become someone else.” 

The musical genre that made Django Reinhardt famous and which accordingly plays a major role in the film is known as ‘Gypsy Jazz’, ‘Jazz Manouche’ or ‘Sinti Jazz’. Its origins can be traced almost exclusively to Reinhardt's play. Characteristic features of this style include the playing of swing pieces by ensembles dominated by side instruments, the high level of improvisation and the use of certain types of guitars and playing techniques. And even if this musical genre cannot necessarily be seen as representative of all Sinti and Roma, it is nevertheless an important reference point for the identity of many persons from those communities, often regarded as a source of pride (Lie 2022: 112–114).   

In return, he is obliged to give a concert in front of high-ranking German Nazi officers. Reinhardt is reluctant at first but ultimately uses his musical performance as a distraction to secretly enable a wounded British pilot to escape. Their secret plan is not discovered until the end of the concert. Reinhardt and his family manage to escape. However, the guitarist has to leave his wife and mother behind halfway as he ultimately makes it across the mountains to Switzerland alone. The camp where Reinhardt's relatives lived (and where he himself had lived for several weeks) is burned down by the German occupiers after the concert and its inhabitants are arrested (Comar 2017). 

How the story is told: cinematic techniques in "Django"

The title of the film alone suggests that Django Reinhardt is the main character whose decisions, thoughts and feelings significantly influence the plot of the film. As the most prominent member of the Quintette du Hot Club de France ensemble, he is portrayed right at the beginning of the film in a long concert scene. He is thus introduced as a celebrated star who seems to be able to effortlessly thrill his audience. With a few exceptions, Reinhardt remains the center of attention in all scenes throughout the film, his actions determine what happens next. And although his decisions are sometimes significantly influenced by external factors, it is always Reinhardt as a cinematic figure who drives the plot forward. For example, before the final concert scene when he plays in front of the German occupiers, his lover Louise and several members of the French Resistance exert pressure on him, however, the concert only takes place ahead after Reinhardt gives his consent (Comar 2017).

The use of music as a creative tool is essential for film director Comar, as is evident from the sheer length of the concert and music scenes shown. These scenes serve as a distinctive feature for the film, driving the plot forward. Critics have highlighted those scenes as an outstanding artistic element (cf. Tegeler 2017). It is relevant to the portrayal of the character Django Reinhardt that he uses music as a central tool of expressing himself, interacting with others, but also of defying external rules and constraints. On several occasions, for example, German occupation officers attempt to regulate his playing by asking him to reduce musical stylistic devices such as syncopation, breaks and solos (which are fundamental to the genre of ‘Sinti jazz’). However, Reinhardt repeatedly and successfully rebels against these absurd restrictions, using the audience's consistently euphoric reaction as protection against possible consequences. Furthermore, Reinhardt's virtuoso playing is probably the most memorable feature that identifies him as a member of the minority in “Django” (English without subtitle: “Django”). Comar almost completely refrains from using exaggerated, stereotypical representations.  

“Othering” and stereotypes are unfortunately still frequently in films about Sinti and Roma, so often that they are usually not even noticed (cf. Mladenova 2020). Reinhardt’s musical style therefore constitutes not only the most significant bond between him and other members of the minority, but at the same time also legitimizes – in the logic of the narration — his aspired status as a heroic figure. For it is precisely this talent that makes him attractive and admirable, which is why director Comar is keen to showcase Reinhardt’s exceptional musical ability extensively throughout the entire film (Comar 2017). 

"Django" as a Holocaust Film 

According to a definition by the publicist Lea Wohl, a “Holocaust film” can be understood as a film “in whose fictional narrative the National Socialist persecution and annihilation of Jews [or, in this case, the persecution and annihilation of Sinti and Roma] constitutes the central theme” (Wohl 2013: 346). An explicit depiction of deportations and extermination camps is therefore not strictly necessary. In this sense, Comar’s work can indeed be classified as a Holocaust film. As early as the very first scene, the brutal murder of a romani Belgian family is staged with great impact. This opening sequence significantly shapes the perception of the entire narrative that follows, especially once it becomes clear that Reinhardt, as the protagonist, also belongs to the minority.

In the subsequent course of the film, the unfolding Holocaust is no longer directly present visually. In this respect, the director relies almost entirely on the audience’s prior knowledge as well as on the impressions created by the opening scene. Only the motif of deportation trains is briefly taken up in a conversation about halfway through the film (though again without being directly shown).

This does not mean that the theme of discrimination and (violent) repression against members of the minority is omitted. One particularly striking example is the depiction of a humiliating medical examination that Reinhardt is forced to undergo for the French-German compulsory labor service. Especially in the second half, we witness acts of harassment by German occupation soldiers against Reinhardt’s relatives. For instance, the family is threatened and verbally abused during an inspection by the German occupiers. The climax of this motif is the burning down of the relatives’ camp. With the subsequent deportation of its inhabitants, Comar once again explicitly relates to the systematic murder and the Holocaust perpetrated against European Sinti and Roma (Comar 2017). 

From the worldly detached artist to the selfless savior of lives: On the character development of Django Reinhardt

The increasingly explicit depiction of the persecution of Sinti and Roma by the National Socialists is accompanied by a central character development of the protagonist Reinhardt. At the beginning of the film, he appears as an apolitical and almost worldly detached musician, for whom his music is the sole priority, while the “real world” comes only second (Comar 2017). Thus, when watching a newsreel in 1943, he asks: “Who is this clown?” – “That’s Hitler!” – “Really?” (Comar 2017).

When already Sinti and Roma across Europe are increasingly falling victim to National Socialist persecution, Reinhardt still believes himself to be completely safe due to his status as a musician and even hopes to become of Paris’s most prominent artists: “Since there are no more American jazz men in Paris, I am the King of Swing” (Comar 2017). Reinhardt at first trusts the protection afforded to him by German Nazi officers. Only the persistent persuasion by his wife and his lover in the run-up to the Germany tour planned by the National Socialists gradually convinces Reinhardt otherwise and ultimately prompts him to flee Paris.

Only considering these new circumstances do his views— and consequently his actions —undergo a certain change. Django increasingly understands what is happening around him and begins to resist the prevailing conditions. After hearing about the situation by relatives, he starts to stand up for the Roma people and begins to act as an advocate and protector. This becomes especially evident during a meeting with members of the French Resistance. The Resistance intends to use Reinhardt’s concert before high-ranking Nazi representatives as a distraction for the evacuation of a wounded British pilot. Reinhardt finally agrees, but in return insists on obtaining security guarantees for his family and relatives.

This effort can be interpreted as an indication that Reinhardt’s priorities and behavior have changed drastically over the course of the film. He is now aware of the world around him and takes on responsibility for the people who matter to him. In this respect as well, the figure of Django Reinhardt fulfills the typical characteristics of a cinematic hero. This is made particularly clear once more in the final scene. Here, the first performance of the so-called “Requiem for Sinti Brothers” is staged — a piece Reinhardt is said (according to the film’s fictionalized narrative) to have composed during his stay at Lake Geneva and which he dedicated to all Sinti and Roma persecuted by the National Socialists in Europe.  

Étienne Comar’s “Django” clearly stages its main character, Django Reinhardt, as a heroic protagonist. From the very beginning, the film is centrally focused on him: Django is the celebrated musician on stage, someone whom no one can deceive — let alone command. His unique abilities on the guitar, which the director lavishly stages especially in the opening sequences, effectively “qualify” him for the role of a positively connoted protagonist. Accordingly, the audience follows his life and, above all, his character development in nearly every scene.

Over the course of the film, Reinhardt increasingly sheds his worldly detached, apolitical artistic attitude and begins to seek to improve the circumstances around him  —not only for himself. To allow this process to be followed more closely, the director deliberately employs a blending of fiction and reality, granting the audience a more immediate view of Reinhardt, his surroundings, and his emotional state. The “counterforces” (Eder) that stand in the way of Reinhardt’s transformation are, in the form of the National Socialists, arguably the most fearsome and overpowering imaginable in a film set in this historical period.

The  violent repressions and the mass murder of European Sinti and Roma are a hidden center of the film and essential to Reinhardt’s character development. While the persecution is not depicted as graphically in this Holocaust film as in many other works dealing with similar themes, they nevertheless unfold an important narrative influence. Music remains of crucial importance in this context as well, as Django`s talent offers the possibility of protecting at least the Roma close to him (even if his attempt ultimately fails). Thus, music ultimately proves to be just as significant for Comar’s film protagonist as it was, in all likelihood, for the life of the historical Django Reinhardt.