The collective crimes against humanity known as the Holocaust have been well-documented since the end of World War II, but lingering questions remain about how much was known about the Nazi mass-extermination schemes outside Germany, and what could have been done to prevent them. Political filmmaker Costa-Gavras confronts this thorny issue in this film, adapted from the stage drama The Representative and based in part on actual events. Kurt Gerstein (Ulrich Tukar) is a German chemist whose work
on various government health projects led to him being added to the scientific staff of the Nazi SS. While working on disinfection and water purification programs to stem the tide of typhoid among German troops, Gerstein creates a toxic cleanser called Zyclon B. Gerstein soon learns that the SS has found a different use for Zyclon B -- in gas form, it is being used to exterminate Jews and other political undesirables en masse. Gerstein, a man of strong Christian faith, is horrified by this revelation, and he is determined to tell the world in hope of stopping the genocide; however, in Germany, Sweden, and the United States, Gerstein's story falls on deaf ears. One man who does believe Gerstein is Riccardo Fontana (Mathieu Kassovitz), a Jesuit with ties to the Vatican and close contact with Pope Pius XII (Marcel Iures). Fontana urges the Pope to speak out against the ongoing massacre, but the Pope declines, believing Russia is a greater menace to the Catholic Church than the Nazis. In time, desperate to spread the word of the holocaust, Gerstein and Fontana find themselves joining ranks with Roman Jews being rounded up by Nazi forces in occupied Italy. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Costa-Gavras deserves credit for staying the course; in a time when most European film directors are wringing their hands, he's still pointing fingers.
Costa-Gavras' political thrillers used to jab and thrust with lethal efficiency. This one just pounds against a heavy bag, huffing and puffing all the way.
What should have been agonizing in its impact comes off as wooden, perhaps because Costa-Gavras works in schematic fashion, spoon-feeding us issues while skimming the historical surface.
Amen., a docudrama rather than a documentary, is clearly guided by Shoah's example, asking us to reflect on the Holocaust and what made it possible rather than simply recoil from it.
Though Costa-Gavras brings nothing new to the table about the Holocaust, he puts another nail down in the argument that the world could have acted but didn't because of indifference.
Costa-Gavras walks a fine line between portraying the soulless social allowances and ignorance that allowed the Holocaust to happen, and exploiting them for dramatic punch.
This is, by far, my favorite historical subject. Just when I thought that I have seen it all, and learned it all, another view of that horrific time comes to light. It's appalling to believe that the world stood still while millions of Jews were being sent to death camps. It's even more apalling (and blows my mind)
that so many COULD have tried to stop it, but didn't due to political reasons and more. Although this film shows how the Catholic Church refused to stand up to Hitler, it also shows how a few were willing to die for the sake of humanity...including an actual SS Officer. Don't look for flash, excitement, and gore here. This is an intense, thought provoking drama. Well done!
A leisurely paced docu-drama account of the Holocaust told from the perspective of Kurt Gerstein, a chemist in the SS who put aside his disgust to document and testify the crimes he witnessed. A true story that offers one of the best cinematic insights into Nazi Germany but it's not the most original and failed to get
me involved emotionally or otherwise.
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