Credible look at atrocities
Labyrinth of Lies Running time: 1hr 4min Starring: Alexander Fehling,André Szymanski, Friederike Becht Directed by: Giulio Ricciarelli Produced by: Jakob Claussen THE NUREMBERG trials, held right after Word War II ended, are famous, and the 1961 Eichmann trial in Jerusalem is known to most, thanks to Hannah Arendt’s writings on the subject, which gave us the frightening idea of the “the banality of evil”.
Arguably just as important were the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials, which took place in the early 1960s but which are practically unknown, though that may change after the release of Labyrinth of Lies ( Im Labyrinth des Schweigens), which successfully dramatises the events leading up to the hearings that would finally uncover what really happened in the eponymous concentration camp.
Labyrinth of Lies opens with a short but effective scene in 1958 Frankfurt that initially feels like a throwaway moment. Through an iron-bar fence, a schoolteacher offers a light to a passing stranger, Simon Kirsch (Johannes Krisch), who has misplaced his matches. Though both are minor characters, it perfectly sets up the film’s main theme, as the passer-by, a camp survivor, drops all his art supplies when he realises the kind educator was one of his guards in Auschwitz. The message is clear: People who were part of the Nazi destruction machine didn’t just disappear in 1945, though most people ignored that ugly notion as they tried to get back to “normal” as quickly as possible after the war.
The film’s (fictitious) protagonist is young Johann Radmann (Alexander Fehling), an ambitious and morally upright public prosecutor in late-1950s Frankfurt who’s frustrated that as a newbie, he’s stuck dealing with traffic offences. Even Marlene (Friederike Becht), who claims she can’t pay her fine, gets no reprieve, though he does manage to start dating her not much later. Radmann’s life changes radically when he takes on the case of Kirsch, or rather that of the man he recognised, who should not be allowed to teach but who clearly lied when interviewed for the job after the war.
From the very start, there’s resistance to Radmann’s actions, even from within the courthouse. Most of his colleagues ridicule him and the senior public prosecutor, Walter Friedberg (Robert Hunger-Buehler), suggests it’s a lost cause because he’ll need hard proof of murder (all other crimes expired under the statute of limitations). However, through a little sleuthing and some creative “borrowing,” Radmann and a journalist friend (Andre Szymanski) manage to present a first shred of concrete evidence that quite a few men were involved in killing. Friedberg finally allows the young man to continue his investigation and try and build a case against as many of the 8 000 people that worked at Auschwitz as possible (22 were found guilty when the trial ended in 1965).
The film deftly explores the story’s complex moral issues and credibly shows how they start hitting closer and closer to home for the increasingly disturbed Radmann.
The more evocative German title translates as In the Labyrinth of Silence, where the word used for silence clearly indicates this was the result of people either keeping silent or being forced to remain silent. – Hollywood Reporter