God on Trial

an expected film. because it propose a solution to an old doubt. Where was God in the Shoah time ? the film does not gives answers. but it is an impeccable solution of the question who defines the conscience of humanity after the WWII. and this is the huge virtue of film. the realism. the exposure of doubts and slices of certitudes. the need of answer. the entire Jew tradition front to one of the basic fears. and the trial. as a form of prey or as form of exorcism against fear. it is one of films who must be seen by everyone. not for understand. not for know. but for remind. to feel. and to discover the Holocaust more than a Jew problem.

I watched his TV drama with interest and felt as though I understood a little bit more about Jews and their beliefs.Based on a true story,it tells of imprisoned Jews in Auschwitz awaiting death and deciding to have a trial to decide if God is guilty for their living hell.It is pretty compelling and also a history lesson as various men argue their case for or against God.I did struggle at times to follow the stories the men told as they related moments from Jewish history but there can be no doubt that there was a lot of research done.

There is an impressive cast including Jack Shepherd,Stellan Skarsgard and Stephen Dillane.All of the cast act their roles very well and special mention must go to Eddie Marsen as Lieble who tells the heartbreaking story of his three boys being taken from him by Nazis and giving him the impossible choice of saving one of them.Very impressive also is Antony Sher as Akiba.He says nothing for well over an hour but it is well worth the wait when he decides to speak.What he has to say comes as a shock and pretty much decides the outcome of the trial.

This is a well made drama.Perhaps there is a too much to take in and it is a bit too long.But it does show the agonies of men nearing certain death,desperate to make some sense of the horror they have lived through.

Films set in Nazi extermination camps are always confronted by certain production problems. Will the Jews look thin enough? Will they look like they're eaten by lice and other vermin? How to convey their interaction in such a wretched and desperate place? A place that most of us cannot begin to imagine. This drama succeeded (against my expectations) because it doesn't feel naturalistic. Of course Anthony Sher and Stellan Skarsgård and the others look like well-fed actors. But this does not detract from their performances because the emphasis in this film is on the arguments. How can anyone affirm a belief in God in Auschwitz? It's a good question, and many approaches and interpretations of God's actions are offered. The production could be criticised for feeling a little like a stage play. A bit wordy with many monologues. But the acting, the direction, and, above all, the writing are first class.

Despite opening with a rather clumsy narrative device for framing the story, this film is almost entirely set in a dormitory block in Auschwitz. The Jewish men in the block have already been divided into who will die tonight and who will not, while new arrivals are poured into the block a day earlier than expected. What comes out of this environment is a sort of trial where God is in the dock accused of breaking his covenant with the Jewish people – a debate about his actions, inactions and motivations if you will. It doesn't sound like a lot of fun to watch and indeed it sat on my HDR for quite some time before I recently got round to being in the mood for it (on a Saturday night weirdly enough, which probably says a lot about me). Seeing for myself I must admit to not being as won over by it as most other viewers seem to have been and I'm not sure if it me "not getting it" or others reviewing their feelings on the Holocaust generally rather than this film.

You see, the film is moving towards the end for reasons that should be obvious given the subject but for the vast majority the focus is on the discussion/trial between the men. This aspect is not as emotive but it did have the potential to be challenging and insightful. Mostly it is, and I found my attention easily held as different opinions were raised and evidence examined. The problem with it is that it is never as good or thought-provoking as I expected it to be. At times it is challenging but at others it seems less coherent and the "trial" structure weakens at these points. It is very good at times though and it was a shame that in some regards the final bookend scene felt like too neat a summary of the questions considering the emotion that had gone before, not quite a cop-out perhaps but not a million miles away from it either.

Where the film doesn't have a single problem is with the cast because every one of them is excellent. To pick one out would be unfair and Skarsgård, Dillane, Sher, Sheppard and all others are passionate and convincing. DeEmmony directs well within such a tight space – keeping it part of the story of course, but not letting it constrict the ability of the camera to get in and around the characters; although the material remains the feel of a play in regards the dialogue, the film certainly doesn't look like filmed theatre.

So mostly God on Trial is excellent, full of passionate performances, engaging dialogue and a real sense of place. It is not a massive problem that it feels like it doesn't deliver in the end and that the final scene itself just feels weak and convenient, flying in the face of everything that had gone before. Not as perfect as some have suggested here but still a very good piece of television drama from BBC2.

In a freezing, filthy, overcrowded hut in Auschwitz a group of emaciated Jewish prisoners await their fate. Around half of them will be selected for the gas chamber within a couple of hours and most seem paralysed by fear, hunger and despair - but one angry inmate rails against God. His anger provokes reactions and soon the men - they are all men - agree to put God on trial, quickly organising a kind of tribunal in the traditions of their religion.

This drama confronts one of the central issues of human existence - the basis of faith - and sets it in a time and place that has become a by-word for inhumanity. With writing that is emotive, intelligent and unflinching throughout complimented by a series of utterly convincing and moving performances from all the principals, this was one of the most absorbing and challenging pieces of TV drama I have witnessed in years. In fact I would go further: This ranks as one of the finest TV productions I have ever seen.

For me the almost real time context lifted this play beyond another testimony to the Holocaust. The characters all know the past - indeed, they acknowledge several hideous near genocidal atrocities by their Jewish ancestors - but they don't know the future.

I won't spoil the outcome but, please, seek this out. If it doesn't make you think and doesn't touch your heart, you may not be alive.