El médico alemán

The true story of Dr Mengele, AKA The Angel Of Death, who, back in 1960, moves in with an Argentinian family, under a pseudonym. It quickly becomes apparent that he is not as clean as he makes out and starts doing experiments on the young daughter Lileth, very well played by Florencia Bado.

Àlex Brendemühl is superb as Mengele, really chilling and frightening and gives an insight into what a seriously deranged person Mengele really was. His desire for an Aryan race continuing long after the war, when he 'invests' some money into a doll factory, which makes doll's that all have to be identical.

There are also some great performances from Natalia Oreiro and Diego Peretti as the parents of Lileth. A fascinating movie, well worth a look.

Filmed in the rolling landscapes of Patagonia, Argentina, WAKOLDA is a truly harrowing story of the Nazi doctor who continued to practice his experiments well after the Second World War had ended.

In exile and among a group of Nazi sympathizers, Josef Mengele (Àlex Brendemühl) lives under an assumed name, and ingratiates himself with a family running a hotel. Befriending the young daughter Lilith (Florencia Bado) he claims to be able to increase her growth and thereby prevent her from being teased at school for being the smallest in the class. She readily agrees; as do her parents. This provides the pretext for Mengele to continue his macabre researches that actually do more harm than good.

Lucía Puenzo's film contrasts the domestic world of Lilith with the world of the Nazi sympathizers congregating in a local German school. They still practice the salute, and forge a regimented atmosphere guaranteed to impose order on the unwilling learners. Lilith is sent to the school, in the hope of receiving a good education - although remaining largely unaffected by Nazi ideology, she is made painfully aware of her lack of height, which only encourages her to seek Mengele's help even more.

Set in 1960, WAKOLDA draws a direct parallel between Mengele's work and the doll-manufacturing practiced by Lilith's father Enzo (Diego Peretti). At first Enzo makes all the toys himself; but with Mengele's investment the venture is transformed into a small cottage industry, where all the dolls' faces are identical and they are given tiny mechanized beating hearts. We are made painfully aware that Mengele treats humanity with just the same indifference as the factory workers treat their dolls - as material for experimentation rather than living breathing personae.

The film maintains a cool, detached tone throughout; although Israeli agents pursue Mengele with the same enthusiasm as with other ex- Nazis (notably Adolf Eichmann), they fail to capture him. But this is not really the film's concern: director Puenzo is far more concerned with Mengele's terrible plausibility as a practicing doctor taking unwitting victims into his confidence and subsequently abusing them.

A simple Argentinian family makes a fresh start by reopening a hotel in the Pategonian mountains left behind by the mothers parents.

Their first guest is a well spoken foreign man, who seems as mysterious as he is intelligent. His interest in this family and his further activities in the nearby town make us wonder about the double agenda he is keeping.

As the family starts to doubt his motives, and other characters also start to show their true colors, we are presented with an intricate tale of mounting tension and international mystery. Of course we know who we are dealing with, and this type of story would work even better if that detail was unknown, but it still works so well as it remains, for the biggest part, fiction. So anything can happen. The fact that we are dealing with THIS monster just gives the whole film an extra layer of creepiness.

The film, to me, didn't come across as Argentinian at all, but I guess the mountainous (and snowy) surroundings and bilingual dialogue caused that. However this didn't matter as these surroundings where pretty spectacular and almost a character of their own.

Sollid acting, all around. Particularly the doctor and the girl, but really everyone involved. As said, beautiful surroundings and locations and always nice to watch a period based story (eventhough some details may not have been entirely right). And above all, great storytelling. Nicely built up tension, never too sensational and it thankfully steers clear of the expected clichés dealing with a character of such history.

Great, engaging, emotional, old fashioned, must see film 8/10

Just saw one of the most compelling movies I have seen in quite a long time. "The German Doctor". It has the beautiful scenery of Bariloche Argentina shot throughout and some of the best acting I have seen in years along with a compelling musical score. It's basic plot deals with Mengele, perhaps one of the greatest villains to have survived the fall of the Nazi empire. He travels into Argentina and ingratiates himself with an Argentine family of Germany ethnicity. The role played by the doctor is both chilling and fascinating. Mengele comes across at first as a benevolent force, but soon we develop the insight not only as to who this person is, but how casually he dehumanizes everyone to meet his own terms of science and beauty. Pay special attention to the symbolism of dolls and their "sameness". The acting is exquisite, with Florencia Bado who conveys the innocence of a young girl who trusts "the German Doctor" as well as Natalia Oriero and Diego Peretti. There is no gruesome violence in this movie, no "action sequence", no CGI, no bad language, no nudity. Only the chilling suspense and dialogue of an evil passing itself as benevolence. The stark winter landscape and beautiful forests of that region are known to me and they were captured in a magnificent way. I cannot recommend this movie enough.

A stranger, with a foreign accent, asks if he can follow a family on the road towards the South. The father agrees, though everyone look at him warily. Everyone but Lilith, the 12 year-old girl who looks 8, fascinated by this man fixing his gaze on her.

Lucia Puenzo is known for exploring difficult and unusual relationships, and this particular feature makes her movies quite appealing. Add to that, beautiful landscapes, solid directing and you've got one of the best thrillers of 2013.

Also interesting to see, the way South America coped with ex-NSDAP members and how they continued to live and work amidst general indifference.

Some things seem like never ending, and as such this movie truly acts like a spell.