You are what you pretend to be

24:08

I suppose the moral here is this: You must be careful what you pretend to be, because in the end you are what you pretend to be.

I'm pretty sure I've heard this quote before, which might be why it stuck out to me. This self-proclaimed moral of the story relates to an obvious theme of identity in the movie. Primarily, Howard W. Campbell identifies neither with any Americans or Germans, besides Helga. At some point in the movie it even says that "he may, in fact, be a citizen of nowhere at all." Even his status as a spy is disputed because of his talent for shmoozing Nazi power players and his convincing radio broadcast. Helga - or is it Resi? - is German, but works for the Russians. George Kraft, or Potipov, is also a Russian spy. Campbell becomes so immersed in his German life that it becomes his real life, and he can receive neither recognition nor award from either side for his efforts. The more he succeeded at being Herr Campbell, the less he could be an American. This quote is not only relevant in the novel, but has remained applicable since Mother Night was published in 1961.

Q: At what point in the movie was Campbell no longer pretending?