''Amen.'' is a 2002

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed and co-written by

Costa-Gavras Konstantinos "Kostas" Gavras (; born 12 February 1933), known professionally as Costa-Gavras, is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for political films, such as the political thril ...

. Based on the play ''

The Deputy ''The Deputy, a Christian tragedy'' (German language, German: ''Der Stellvertreter. Ein christliches Trauerspiel''), also published in English as ''The Representative'', is a controversial 1963 play by Rolf Hochhuth which portrayed Pope Pius XII ...

'' by

Rolf Hochhuth Rolf Hochhuth (; 1 April 1931 – 13 May 2020) was a German author and playwright, best known for his 1963 drama ''The Deputy'', which insinuates Pope Pius XII's indifference to Hitler's extermination of the Jews, and he remained a controversial ...

, the film examines the political and diplomatic relationship between the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

and

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It stars

Ulrich Tukur Ulrich Tukur (born Ulrich Gerhard Scheurlen; 29 July 1957) is a German actor and musician. He is known for his roles in Michael Haneke, Michael Haneke's ''The White Ribbon'', Steven Soderbergh, Steven Soderbergh's ''Solaris (2002 film), Solaris' ...

Mathieu Kassovitz Mathieu Kassovitz () is a French actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has won three César Awards: Most Promising Actor for '' See How They Fall'' (1994), and Best Film and Best Editing for '' La Haine'' (1995). He also re ...

Sebastian Koch Sebastian Koch is a German television and film actor. He is known for roles in the 2007 Academy Award-winning film '' The Lives of Others'', in Steven Spielberg's '' Bridge of Spies'', and as Otto Düring in the fifth season of the Showtime s ...

Ulrich Mühe Friedrich Hans Ulrich Mühe (; 20 June 1953 – 22 July 2007) was a German film, television and theatre actor. He played the role of Hauptmann (Captain) Gerd Wiesler in the Academy Awards, Oscar-winning film ''Das Leben der Anderen'' (''The Live ...

, Ion Caramitru, and Marcel Iureş. It was a co-production between French, German, and Romanian studios. The film premiered at the 52nd Berlin International Film Festival, where it was nominated for the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, the most important international film festival award. The bear is the heraldic an ...

. It was nominated for seven

César Awards The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ' ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Min ...

, including for Best Film and

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * As ...

, and won the award for Best Original Screenplay or Adaptation (Costa-Gavras and Jean-Claude Grumberg).

Plot

During World War II, Kurt Gerstein, a

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

officer employed in the SS Hygiene Institute, designs programs for the purification of water and the destruction of vermin. He is shocked to learn that the process he has developed to eradicate

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

, by using a

hydrogen cyanide Hydrogen cyanide (formerly known as prussic acid) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula, formula HCN and structural formula . It is a highly toxic and flammable liquid that boiling, boils slightly above room temperature, at . HCN is ...

mixture called

Zyklon B Zyklon B (; translated Cyclone B) was the trade name of a cyanide-based pesticide invented in Germany in the early 1920s. It consists of hydrogen cyanide (prussic acid), as well as a cautionary eye irritant and one of several adsorbents such ...

, is now being used for killing

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and other "undesirables" in

extermination camp Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe, primarily in occupied Poland, during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocau ...

s. Gerstein attempts to notify

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

about the gassings, but is appalled by the lack of response he gets from the Catholic hierarchy. The only person moved is Riccardo Fontana, a young

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest. Fontana and Gerstein attempt to raise awareness about what is happening to the Jews in Europe but even after Fontana appealing to the pope himself, the Vatican makes only a timid and vague condemnation of Hitler and

. Eventually Gerstein travels to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

to speak to the Pope himself but is not allowed. When he arrives the Germans are taking control of Rome and begin rounding up the

Italian Jews Italian Jews (; ) or Roman Jews (; ) can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in or with roots in Italy, or, in a narrower sense, to mean the Italkim, an ancient community living in Italy since the Ancient Roman era, who use the It ...

to be sent to the death camps. Fontana begs the Pope to force the Germans to stop the deportation by appearing at the train station in person but the Pope refuses, saying that doing so will cause hardship for the Christians living under Nazi Germany. In disgust and sorrow Fontana puts the Jewish Star-of- David

yellow badge The yellow badge, also known as the yellow patch, the Jewish badge, or the yellow star (, ), was an accessory that Jews were required to wear in certain non-Jewish societies throughout history. A Jew's ethno-religious identity, which would be d ...

on himself and presents himself to be taken on the train of Jews being deported to the death camps. When he arrives at the camp Fontana is interrogated by the head of the camp, a powerful 'friend' of Kurt Gerstein known simply as the Doctor, who despite knowing that the war is lost and that Fontana is a Catholic priest, allows Fontana to stay with the Jews and work in the crematorium, and eventually orders him gassed. Gerstein attempts to save Fontana but he will not leave. The Doctor escorts Gerstein out of the camp as Fontana and the remaining Jews continue to be murdered. They drive by German soldiers digging up and burning the bodies of previously murdered Jews in a mass grave near the camp, and the Doctor asks Gerstein if he knows any contacts to help get him out of Germany. Gerstein returns home and gathers all his evidence that documents the Nazi atrocities and takes them to the Allies. Despite accepting his evidence he is still arrested and after reading the charges against him he is found hanged in his cell. Afterward the Doctor is seen speaking to a

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

in Rome asking for help leaving the country saying "I'm a doctor, just a physician" and the cardinal agrees to help send him to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Cast

Production

The film is based on a 1963 play by

, '' The Deputy, a Christian Tragedy'', which was widely attacked in

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and Jewish circles for its portrayal of

. The German-language version of the film was released under the play's original title ''Der Stellvertreter''. Since the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

did not allow filming in the Vatican, the scenes in the papal palaces were shot in the

Palace of the Parliament The Palace of the Parliament (), also known as the House of the Republic () or the People's House (), is the seat of the Parliament of Romania, located atop Dealul Spirii in Bucharest, the national capital. The Palace reaches a height of , has ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

References

External links

* * *
trailer
and links to US reviews at Metacritic

at Reeling Reviews {{Authority control 2002 films 2000s war drama films 2000s English-language films English-language French films English-language German films English-language Romanian films Films critical of the Catholic Church Films about popes Films directed by Costa Gavras Films set in Germany Films set in Poland Films set in Vatican City Films set in Rome French World War II films Holocaust films Romanian war drama films French war drama films Films shot in Bucharest Best Film Lumières Award winners Cultural depictions of Pope Pius XII German war drama films Romanian drama films 2002 drama films French biographical films German biographical films Romanian biographical films 2000s French films German World War II films Romanian World War II films 2000s German films Films scored by Armand Amar English-language war drama films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links