Filmmakers have grappled with the post-war Nuremberg trials many times. A documentary was made in parallel with the 1948 trial. The most known retelling is the star studded court film JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG by Stanley Kramer which won two Oscars in 1962. The most recent iteration was the Russian feature film NUREMBERG from 2023 and in the past year there was a big television film about it. Now, Hollywood is doing it again with Russell Crowe as Hermann Göring. What makes the film by James Vanderbilt (TRUTH) interesting is its perspective. Based on hitherto unreleased documents, journalist Jack El-Hai describes the encounters between army psychiatrist Douglas M. Kelley and Hermann Göring, the highest-ranking Nazi still alive after the capitulation, in his 2013 book “The Nazi and the Psychiatrist.“ Kelley (Rami Malek) is sent to the Luxemburg Mondorf-les-Bains, where, after the war, the US Army converted a hotel into a prison for the Nazi elite. While there he was meant to assess the physical and mental states of the Nazis before they stood trial in Nuremberg. Out of the 52 Nazis like Dönitz, Hess, Speer and Streicher, it is Herman Göring, the former head of the Luftwaffe and the self-proclaimed “Reich Marshall“ that piques Kelley’s interest. He engages in a dangerous game in order to win his trust. Crowe and Malek deliver excellent performances, the supporting roles are brilliantly cast, and Dariusz Wolski (NAPOLEON) shoots the film in a stylish manner. However, the meaningful looks and grand gestures are shown in an anything but subtle fashion. Brian Tyler’s pathos-laden score plays a big part in that. However, this does not change the continued relevance of the subject.

Lars Tunçay (INDIEKINO MAGAZIN)

Translation: Elinor Lewy