Amen. (2002)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Costa-Gavras

Writers:

Costa-Gavras (writer)
Jean-Claude Grumberg (writer)

Release Date:

27 February 2002 (France)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

During WWII SS officer Kurt Gerstein tries to inform Pope Pius XII about Jews being sent to concentration camps. Young Jesuit priest Riccardo Fontana gives him a hand.

Plot Keywords:

SS | Priest | Jesuit | Pope | Concentration Camp

Awards:

2 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Ulrich Tukur	...	Kurt Gerstein
Mathieu Kassovitz	...	Riccardo Fontana
Ulrich Mühe	...	Doctor
Michel Duchaussoy	...	Cardinal
Ion Caramitru	...	Count Fontana
Marcel Iures	...	Pope
Friedrich von Thun	...	Gerstein's Father
Antje Schmidt	...	Mrs. Gerstein
Hanns Zischler	...	Grawitz
Sebastian Koch	...	Höss
Erich Hallhuber	...	Von Rutta
Burkhard Heyl	...	Director
Angus MacInnes	...	Tittman
Bernd Fischerauer	...	Bishop von Galen
Pierre Franckh	...	Pastor Wehr

Also Known As:

Amen (France)
Der Stellvertreter (Germany)
Eyewitness
Le vicaire (France) (working title)
Aamen. - Lopullinen ratkaisu (Finland) (DVD title) [fi]
Amém (Brazil) (festival title) [pt]
Amén (Mexico) [es]
Amén. (Spain) [es]
Amen. (Argentina) [es]
Amin (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Amin. (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

132 min

Country:

France | Germany | Romania

Language:

English | French | Italian | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-13 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Peru:14 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Spain:13 | UK:PG | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Bucharest, Romania

Company:

Canal+

Trivia:

The Vatican did not give a permission to shoot the film in their buildings. After searching a scenery of adequate size for the scenes taking place in the Vatican, Costa-Gavras finally chose Europe's largest building, the House of the People (Casa Poporului) in Bucharest. Some of the outdoor scenes were shot in Mogosoaia Palace, some fourteen kilometers northwest of Bucharest.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In one of the scenes they say that the Treblinka camp is out of gas, referring to Zyklon B. Treblinka didn't use Zyklon B, instead they used carbon monoxide.

Quotes:

Karl: In these heroic times, have you acquired some title or some kind of rank?
Kurt Gerstein: Lieutenant of the Waffen-SS.
Karl: Go to the SS Transportation Department. Thanks for your visit.

Underestimated masterpiece by Costa-Gavras

I was very surprised by reading so many bad comments about 'Amen.'. This is a breathtaking movie about a German officer who realises what they are actually doing to the Jews and who afterwards tries everything to prevent this murdering. Ulrich Tukur gives one hell of a performance. You really see this man suffering under the killings he cannot prevent.

Another perfect performance is given by the priest who tries to help the German officer. Mathieu Kassovitz (who also played the male leading role in 'Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain')is very convincing in his role.

I think this movie is highly underrated. Costa-Gavras has made an important movie with 'Amen.' which looks at the holocaust-tragedy from another point of view which is seldom showed. The movie gives a true although unbelievable answer at one of the most important questions concerning the holocaust: didn't anyone saw this coming? Couldn't anyone prevent this from happening?

If you really want to know the answers to this questions, you certainly have to watch 'Amen.'. This movie should at least have an 8 and I'll give you two reasons why: one because the story is unique and magnificently told; and two because the two leading actors are giving the performance of a lifetime. Highly recommendable!

9/10