La conspiración del silencio

"Labyrinth of Lies" (2014 release from Germany; original title "Im Labyrinth des Schweigens" or "In the Labyrinth of Silence" 122 min.) brings the story of the events leading up to the so-called Frankfurt Auschwitz trials in 1963. As the movie opens, we are told it is "Frankfurt-am-Main, 1958", and we get to know a young prosecutor named Johann Radmann, who is just starting his career, doing traffic violations. But soon he gets (and seizes) the opportunity to look into the case of a Waffen SS soldier who was a commander at Auschwitz and is now teaching in grade school as if nothing ever happened. Radmann soon finds that there is widespread resistance to his efforts to prosecute ex-Nazis. At this point, we are 15 minutes into the movie but to tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this movie is an important reminder that the sentiment in Germany wasn't always what it is nowadays and has been for decades. It appears that after WW II, the entire country went about its business as if nothing had happened, and collectively tries to whitewash Auschwitz from memory. But as Radmann points out, "to remain silent is to poison our country's democracy". So he speaks up. It is an incredible story. Kudos to the movie's producers for bringing us this important historical reminder. Besides the important moral and historical aspects, the movie does a great job portraying what daily life in the late 50s and early 60s was in West Germany. Check out the great looking cars! "Labyrinth of Lies" was Germany's submission for this year's Best Foreign Language Movie Oscar nominations, which should give you an idea how well the movie was viewed in its home country (the fact that it didn't get the Oscar nomination doesn't diminish the merits of the movie).

"Labyrinth of Lies" was released over a year ago. I have no idea why it is just now finding its way into US theaters, but better late than never. The movie showed up this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, I figure this won't stick around for long. The Sunday matinée screening where I saw this at was surprisingly well attended, I am happy to report. If you are in the mood for a top-notch quality foreign movie that has a very important lesson and reminder, I urge you to check out "Labyrinth of Lies", be it in the theater, on Amazon Instant Video or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray. "Labyrinth of Lies" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

It's 1958 Frankfurt, West Germany. Johann Radmann is a young by-the-books prosecutor toiling in traffic court and believing his father to be anti-Nazi. Reporter Thomas Gnielka brings the case of Charles Schulz, a teacher suspected of being a Nazi guard in Auschwitz. Nobody cares about what happened there and actively ignores the collective Nazi past. He starts a relationship with Marlene Wondrak. Gnielka introduces him to camp survivor Simon Kirsch. Radmann starts digging into the past and building a case against many. His main obsession is camp doctor Josef Mengele who experimented on the prisoners.

The history is very compelling. However, the story lacks danger or intensity. It needs some additional drama. There is some professional and personal drama but none of it is that intense. The production and acting is first rate. It is a very compelling watch although there are no big surprises.

This is definitely one of the more powerful holocaust films. It doesn't have any visual images of the holocaust. It's about the aftermath. To bring the perpetrators on trial, the effects on a Germany (or West Germany) in total denial, of the children of the Nazi era and their latent guilt of what their parents may have done or did. One feels what it was to grow up German during this period of the late 1950's.

It's very emotional performance by Alexander Fehling. We feel his anguish as he learns the scale of his country's complicity of what happened – and his anger and frustration at the lies to circumvent it all. And this is told at the personal level – it is individuals whose lives were shattered and it is individuals who did the destroying.

Unique and impressive.

For years I've been watching films from the "Allies" point of view and I never thought of the German point of view or I just assumed German people knew of the atrocities committed by their fellow men.

Its amazing and heartbreaking to know that Germans actually didn't know or chose to not believe what the Nazis were doing to the Jews during WWII.

We were made to believe also that all the Nazis were living in hiding after WWII, when some of them were actually living in relative comfort and free from scrutiny, among some of the people they tortured.

Labyrinth of Lies is the film that gives us a look of how the Germans were actually living in denial for years after the war and how some of the Nazis that committed war crimes were living their normal lives as if nothing had happened.

Very interesting film and very easy to understand if you know the history.

Labyrinth of Lies is a 2014 German film about the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials that took place between 1963 and 1965. What distinguished the Frankfurt trails from all the other trials was that they were based on German law and because they happened 20+ years after the war, they were limited to murder charges. Several Nazis had been tried previously but they were convicted under international law and occurred right after the war.

The film begins in 1958 as a young prosecutor Johann Radmann (marvelously played by Alexander Fehling) is attracted to the case by a reporter (Andre Szymanski), and given support by the federal Attorney General (Gert Voss who is simply riveting). They must work against the denials, cover-ups and vested interests that try to keep the issue quiet.

The film gives you a real feel of the late 50s, and the photography and music support an excellent cast who do wonderful work. In a film about the holocaust, there is a tendency to shock, but director Giulio Ricciarelli skillfully shows that less is more.

There are some places where the film seems more like a docudrama, and some issues (e.g., Radmann's relationship with his mother) are only hinted at. But overall it's an excellent film, and while it may not be an equivalent to "Judgment at Nuremberg", it is well worth viewing.