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Amen. (2002) 7.2
Ratings:
7.2/10 from 7,715 users
Metascore: 57/100
Reviews: 47 user | 62 critic | 19 from Metacritic.com 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. Director:Costa-Gavras |
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Ulrich Tukur | ... | ||
| Mathieu Kassovitz | ... |
Riccardo Fontana
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| Ulrich Mühe | ... |
Doctor
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Michel Duchaussoy | ... |
Cardinal
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Ion Caramitru | ... |
Count Fontana
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| Marcel Iures | ... | ||
| Friedrich von Thun | ... |
Gerstein's Father
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Antje Schmidt | ... |
Mrs. Gerstein
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Hanns Zischler | ... | |
| Sebastian Koch | ... |
Höss
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Erich Hallhuber | ... |
Von Rutta
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Burkhard Heyl | ... |
Director
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| Angus MacInnes | ... |
Tittman
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Bernd Fischerauer | ... |
Bishop von Galen
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Pierre Franckh | ... |
Pastor Wehr
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
In World War II, the sanitation engineer and family man Kurt Gerstein is assigned by SS to be the Head of the Institute for Hygiene to purify the water for the German Army in the front. Later, he is invited to participate in termination of plagues in the concentration camps and he develops the lethal gas Zyklon-B. When he witnesses that the SS is killing Jews instead, he decides to denounce the genocide to the Pope to expose to the world and save the Jewish families. The idealist Jesuit priest Riccardo Fontana from an influent Italian family gives his best efforts being the liaison of Gerstein and the leaders of the Vatican. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Details
Release Date:
27 February 2002 (France) See more »Also Known As:
Eyewitness See more »Box Office
Budget:
FRF 103,000,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend:
$16,284 (USA) (24 January 2003)Gross:
$274,299 (USA) (8 August 2003)Company Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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Stephan Lux: [interrupting a session of the Assembly of the League of Nations, Geneve, 1936] My name is Stephan Lux. I am Jewish. The Jews are being persecuted in Germany and the world doesn't care.
[He draws a pistol]
Stephan Lux: I see no other way to reach people's hearts.
[He shoots himself]
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
The movie is based on a play by German playwright Rolf Hochhuth which started a lot of heated discussions and arguments after its first release in 1963. It even caused some diplomatic tensions. See more »Goofs
As late as 1944, several of the SS officers in the film are shown to be wearing black parade SS tunics. The black SS jacket was phased out of the SS in 1939 and had been completely discontinued by 1941 in favor of the gray wartime SS tunic. See more »Quotes
[first lines]Stephan Lux: [interrupting a session of the Assembly of the League of Nations, Geneve, 1936] My name is Stephan Lux. I am Jewish. The Jews are being persecuted in Germany and the world doesn't care.
[He draws a pistol]
Stephan Lux: I see no other way to reach people's hearts.
[He shoots himself]
See more »
The challenge for Kurt Gerstein after the war, in the hands of the allies, and for Costa-Gavras in this film, is to convince us that he, Kurt Gerstein S.S. officer, was bravely acting as the "eyes of God" in watching the holocaust unfold before his eyes. It is hard to believe that a man of conscience could actively participate in something he found so entirely heinous. But the amazing work of Gavras and Ulrich Tukur who plays Gerstein succeeds. It is very difficult to play a noble and virtuous man and not become a saintly characature. Tukur succeeds in rounding out a believable character who inspires us to believe in man's innate goodness. Indeed Tukur pretty much has to carry this film and he does. Kudos. Mathieu Kassovitz as the young Jesuit priest is not as strong but his character is less central to the story.
This film is very powerful. In it's veiled presentation of the holocaust it manages to convey the horror with as much emotional impact as any previous film dealing with this dark history. The real sorrow, for me, is to watch our protagonists struggle believing that "if only the world knew" there would be an outpouring of outrage that would put a stop to the atrocities. Unfortunately these good men don't seem to grasp the darker side of human nature that can turn a blind eye. In the final chapter a brilliant plot twist brings home the horror in the most personal of ways to all of those Vatican "diplomats".
A powerful, horrible and beautiful film.