The Deputy (2002)
The deputy (original title: Amen. ) Is a film adaptation of Rolf Hochhuth 's documentary play of the same name from 1963. It was directed by Costa-Gavras , with Ulrich Tukur , Mathieu Kassovitz and Ulrich Mühe in the leading roles . The film had its world premiere on February 14, 2002 in the competition at the Berlinale .
The film drama criticizes the lack of protest by the Catholic Church against the Holocaust during the time of National Socialism in Germany . It is based on a true story, but the correctness of the Vatican's behavior depicted there has been questioned by critics.
Kurt Gerstein , one of the few real people in the film, works as a hygiene specialist for the SS . His area of responsibility is shifted from disinfection to the extermination of Jews in concentration camps . Horrified by these crimes, he seeks the help of the Catholic Church - which he does not receive.
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In the opening scene, Stefan Lux enters the plenary hall of the League of Nations in Geneva and interrupts the session taking place there. He draws attention to the persecution of the Jews in National Socialist Germany and then shoots himself to underline the importance of his message.
Meanwhile, a group of mentally handicapped people in Germany , including the niece of SS-Obersturmführer Kurt Gerstein, was killed (see also Action T4 ). The Catholic Church, who learned of the alleged reasons for killing, protested and filed a complaint. The “ euthanasia ” program is then restricted.
As a hygiene specialist in Poland, Gerstein is responsible for ensuring that large quantities of hydrogen cyanide are used correctly . There an SS doctor and other SS members show him the extermination camps . He was appalled and on the way back he contacted the secretary of the Swedish embassy, Baron von Otter, to tell him about what was going on in Poland. Back in Berlin, he tries to convince Pastor Dibelius to lodge a protest, similar to the one he had previously done with the “euthanasia”, in order to stop the extermination of the Jews through public pressure. However, the pastor does not believe him and refuses, also because he fears a trap by the Secret State Police . Kurt Gerstein turns to the nuncio directly , but he doesn't believe him either. His secretary Riccardo Fontana, however, who overheard the conversation, meets with Gerstein and travels to the Vatican to report on the extermination camps.
Meanwhile, Gerstein continues to work in the SS Hygiene Institute and helps to develop new extermination systems that are supposed to work more efficiently and faster. He also does this to reduce the suffering of those affected. The SS doctor makes friends a little with Gerstein, who is "the only one with whom it is still worth talking to." Gerstein meets privately with his former friends who, however, do not want to help him.
Meanwhile, Fontana ran into similar problems in Rome: Neither his father, Count Fontana, nor the Pope's adviser believed him. After all, he is promised that Pope Pius XII. will denounce the crimes of Hitler in his Christmas speech - but this does not happen. He speaks to other church representatives who do not doubt his information, but are against an attack for strategic reasons.
Gerstein and Fontana decide to travel to the Vatican together. But Jews and converts are already being arrested there by the Nazis. In view of these events, an SS officer in audience with the Pope is not possible. In a desperate act, Fontana turns to Pope Pius XII; when the latter does not follow his advice, he attaches a Jewish star to his chest. He goes to the station where a thousand Jews are to be deported that evening and gets on the train with them. When he arrives at the extermination camp, he is taken to the SS doctor, as it has been learned that he is a Catholic priest. He is assigned to a special detachment at the crematorium on the instructions of the doctor . On the return journey from Rome, Gerstein forged Himmler's signature in order to obtain Fontana's release. But the SS doctor notices the forged signature and orders Fontana's murder. Instead of judging Gerstein for his betrayal, he himself traveled to the Vatican to flee abroad before the allied invasion.
After Germany surrendered, Gerstein was taken prisoner and wrote a report on the events in the extermination camps and his resistance. Still, he is charged. Finally he is found hanged in his cell - the film deliberately leaves open whether Gerstein had committed suicide or was murdered.
The film ends with a conversation between the SS doctor and Bishop Alois Hudal , who helps him escape to Argentina .
Stylistic devices
In the course of the film, between the scenes , trains are repeatedly shown driving into and out of the extermination camps , which are filled or empty with people. This conveys to the viewer that the deportation continues at any time, while from the point of view of the politicians and church representatives involved, there is apparently no great hurry.
Reviews
“The conventionally staged didactic play with good actors partly sets different accents than the stage version and reduces the role of the Pope. Costa-Gavras is more concerned with a moral appeal - undeniably worth discussing - than with historical accuracy, which of course gives up the opportunity to examine the complex characters and the political constellations more closely. "
“[…] Costa-Gavras didn't look for anything and he didn't find anything. Apart from the rough course of the story and the constellation of the characters, he obviously didn't care about Hochhuth's play and its meaning. Like the original, the film is about the unsuccessful attempts by SS man Kurt Gerstein to get the Catholic Church - namely Pope Pius XII. - to move to open resistance against the mass extermination of the National Socialists. But where Hochhuth has created political enlightenment theater with deep doubts about the Enlightenment himself, Costa-Gavras treats the material as a story without reflection: his Gerstein (Ulrich Tukur) incessantly rushes from instance to instance, while more and more full freight trains go east. Where Hochhuth condenses his story into a few, as it were exaggerated scenes, Costa-Gavras only knows the rhythm of the parallel montage of the action film: Gerstein runs, trains go. "
Awards
- 2002: Nominated in the category Best European Actor ( Ulrich Tukur ) at the European Film Awards .
- 2002: Nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear ( Berlinale ). Berlinale Cinematography for the director Constantin Costa-Gavras “for his services to politically active film”.
- 2003: César for the Best Screenplay category . Six more nominations for the best film, the best leading actor, the best camera, the best director, the best film music and the best sound.
- 2003: Prix Lumières in the Best Film category .
literature
- Rolf Hochhuth : The deputy. A Christian tragedy . With a foreword by Erwin Piscator and essays by Karl Jaspers u. a. 234-237 thousand. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1998, 522 pages, ISBN 3-499-10997-2 .
See also
- Pius XII. - German-Italian TV film (original title: Under the Roman Sky ) from 2010 by Christian Duguay , screenplay: Elisabeth von Molo
Web links
- The deputy in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The representative at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- Detailed table of contents
- Links to reviews
- Cristina Moles Kaupp: Hype with a catch at Spiegel Online
Individual evidence
- ↑ Especially in the English-speaking area. The point is part of the name. For the source, see the page in the Internet Movie Database
- ^ First world premieres in the competition at the Berlinale 2002. In: berlinale.de. February 4, 2002, accessed February 18, 2016 (press release).
- ↑ Constantin Costa-Gavras: Amen (The Deputy) (France 2002) Festival Berlinale 2002 Competition. In: jump-cut.de. Retrieved February 18, 2016 .
- ↑ The deputy. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Jens Balzer: Gerstein runs . In: Berliner Zeitung , February 14, 2002
- ^ People's Choice Awards 2002 - The nominees ( Memento April 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), European Film Academy
- ↑ Berlinale | Goldener Berliner Bär ( Memento from December 6, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), cinefacts.de
- ↑ Berlinale Camera is awarded to Constantin Costa-Gavras. In: berlinale.de. February 12, 2002, accessed February 18, 2016 .
- ↑ Palmarès 2003 - 28 ème cérémonie des César. In: academie-cinema.org. Retrieved February 18, 2016 (French).
- ↑ César Awards: A pianist clears the table, eight women get nothing . In: Spiegel Online , February 23, 2003.
- ↑ Amen best film 2002 at the Prix Lumières . In: news.ch , February 15, 2003.