Movie No. 4 (2016): LABYRINTH OF LIES

Labyrinth of Lies (2015)
Director: Giulio Ricciarelli
Cast: Alexander Fehling, Andre Szymanski, Johannes Krisch
In German, with English subtitles

The milieu is Germany, more or less 20 years after the fall of Hitler. People seem to have moved on from the dark phase of their nation's history. But a chance encounter between a former Auschwitz prisoner and his torturer in the camp brings about old wounds that a journalist and neophyte prosecution lawyer pick up. Thus, begins the investigation of what really happened in the camp because ordinary people, it seems, have never heard of Auschwitz, let alone the atrocities committed there by Nazi soldiers some of which are unpunished and have resumed back to ordinary living. And there's cover up along the way of search for the truth. This is the focus of the narrative. 

The movie sustains the intrigue and tension that the script builds up at the start through a certain point after the last quarter of the movie's running time. I'm thinking that it could have ended somewhere before where it actually ended. Scenes are all over the place near the conclusion. It still ends up well, though. However, there are excesses that need to be edited out. For example: in my opinion, the romance subplot may not be unnecessary. But I have to commend the movie for effectively using dialogues to create perfect images instead of using flashback scenes.

Rating: 3.5/4.0

Date seen: January 3, 2016




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