Nothing but the Truth (1999)

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Movie
Original title Nothing but the truth
Country of production Germany , USA
original language German
Publishing year 1999
length 125 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Roland Suso Richter
script Johannes W. Betz ,
Christopher Riley ,
Kathleen Riley
production Edward R. Pressman
music Harald Kloser
camera Martin Langer
cut Peter R. Adam
occupation

Nothing but Truth is a German film from 1999 by Roland Suso Richter based on the novel of the same name by Johannes Betz and Beate Veldtrup. The German-American co-production provides a hypothetical represents scenario in which the concentration camp doctor Josef Mengele into the 90s has survived years and the legitimacy of his actions in the concentration camp Auschwitz wants to prove.

action

The young German lawyer Peter Rohm is an expert on Dr. Josef Mengele, who went down in history as the “Angel of Death of Auschwitz” through his diabolical human experiments in the Nazi extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau . He is actually working on a book about the hated doctor, but has not yet put a line on paper. Despite all his research, the doctor's actions are alien to him; the mutilation and gassing and the ruthless human experiments prevent Rohm from being able to put himself in the shoes of the object of his analysis.

Then the lawyer is kidnapped by a mysterious publisher to Argentina, where he has an unimaginable encounter. It turns out that it was not Mengele who died in a swimming accident in Brazil in 1979, but a close relative. The "Angel of Death of Auschwitz" is now well over eighty years old and terminally ill; he has decided not to hide any longer and to return to Germany, where he will take a stand on his deeds in court. Rohm is supposed to defend him.

The latter hesitates, but is still fascinated by the insights that could allow him to take over the case. Finally he agrees - to the horror of his colleagues and his wife Rebekka. Because now the most sensational trial in German history begins: Josef Mengele is arrested immediately after arriving at the airport and charged with countless crimes. Passionate discussions ignite in the media and on the streets, and hostility against Rohm and his family is not long in coming.

Auschwitz survivors are interrogated in court. They report Mengele's unbelievable deeds and deeply shock all those present. The doctor himself does not deny the events, but claims that he only acted for the benefit of the patient and in the interests of progress. His procedures would have met medical and ethical standards at the time. With eloquence and charisma, the terminally ill begins to convince the people around him of his views.

Peter Rohm, meanwhile, has to learn that the story of the mass murder in Auschwitz is more closely linked to his own family than expected: his own mother was a nurse in a mental hospital and carried out two injections there (albeit unknowingly). She knew Mengele and his actions, but kept silent about them for most of her life. Your son has to finally decide in the closing speech: does he want to do his duty as a lawyer and help his client to freedom?

At the end of his speech to the judges, he stated that it was difficult to produce legal evidence against Mengele; his actions had a different meaning in the perverse context of the National Socialist era than in historical terms. Still, there could be no doubt that Josef Mengele was as guilty as any human could be and that he should spend the rest of his life in prison.

background

  • The film describes a hypothetical scenario. The real Josef Mengele died on February 7, 1979 in Bertioga during a summer vacation, suffered a stroke and then drowned in the sea. This is touched on by the film Mengele, who explains that his cousin who looks like him drowned in Brazil in 1979. In 1985, his grave was discovered by German, American and Israeli investigators. Within a few weeks, the identity of the corpse could be confirmed with almost no doubt. At the latest since a corresponding DNA test was carried out in 1992, Mengele's death has been proven beyond doubt.
  • In addition to the main role, Götz George was also a co-producer of the film. He personally helped fund the film.

reception

Nothing but the truth was honored at numerous film festivals, but viewed very critically in Germany's homeland. In many cases the legitimacy of the hypothetical scenario was questioned, others criticized that the film ultimately eluded the questions it had asked itself.

Flemming Schock from filmspiegel assessed the performance of the actors: The interaction of Kai Wiesinger and Götz George as Mengele brilliantly succeeds in powerfully expanding the manipulative effect that this unthinkable client exerts on the lawyer. Through a latex mask, George accomplishes the metamorphosis to the monster that remains behind this mask. The superficial Mengele is an old, bitter man who feels misunderstood as a 'victim of his time'. He still sees his unprecedented murders legitimized as humanistic services in the sense of the medical ethics of the time. George is able to do it here even more emphatically than in ' Totmacher ', the psychopathic-pathological essence of the played character, artfully concealing behind a facade of vulnerability, of normality.

The film was also able to convince the film service : A vividly played political thriller that skilfully combines the fictional story with real social conditions, provocatively asking the question of the truth, but not dismissing the viewer with clear answers. The design, congenial in terms of both form and content, is evidence of an exceptionally high standard.

Awards

  • Silver Iris of the Brussels International Film Festival - Götz George, Best Actor
  • Special prize of the jury of the 14th World Television Festival
  • Special Jury Award and Award for Best Director at the Aubagne International Film Festival

literature

  • Johannes W. Betz, Beate Veldtrup: Nothing but the truth Fischer October 2001, ISBN 3-596-14492-2

Web links