LABYRINTH OF LIES – The Review

Screenplays have been populated by characters trying to move forward and escape their ugly past since the creation of cinema (Mad Max may be the most recent example to come to mind, even Ant-Man). This week’s new release concerns a whole country rather than a person trying to come to grips with its history. Really not a distant past. That country is Germany, 1958. It’s just a couple of years prior to the event (the erection of the Berlin Wall) portrayed in the still-in-theatres BRIDGE OF SPIES, which itself was set a few years before the spy caper box office dud THE MAN FROM UNCLE. As you may assume from the year, this film concerns the events of the not-so-long-ago World War II. And while the man character aspires to bring buried atrocities to light, he’s up against many powerful forces trying to keep that history a secret from the masses. They are the builders of a LABYRINTH OF LIES.

The journey really begins when a Berlin artist named Simon Kirsch (Joannes Krisch) is shocked to see the malformed left hand of a schoolteacher. The sight triggers horrific memories. Across town, Johann Radmann (Alexander Fehling), an ambitious young prosecutor, yearns for more meaningful assignments, but seems to be stuck in traffic court. One afternoon the dull routine is broken up by the arrival of newspaper man Thomas Gnielka (Andre Szymanski) and the still rattled Simon. Thomas has lodged a complaint from Simon over that teacher, whom the artist recognized as one of the guards who tormented him at the infamous “death camp” Auschwitz. The newsman is furious that nobody from the prosecutor general’s office has followed up. His late father’s lectures on truth and justice still echoing through his brain, Joahnn looks into the case. Once he is called into his boss’s office, co-workers believe that Joann will be fired. But instead Fritz Bauer (Gert Voss) encourages the young man and even assigns him other lawyers and staff to assist. But the job ahead is difficult. The statute of limitations has expired on every crime save murder. Johann and his team must scour through tons of records and files for evidence while locating victims who will be willing to testify (including the now reluctant Simon). All this must be done while facing reluctance and outright hostility (even in the law office) from those wishing to forget the sins of that war and hide those evils from future generations.

Fehling perfectly captures the youthful zeal for justice as the (early on) idealistic young lawyer. It’s not until the film’s mid-point that he reveals the character’s darker side, bourne of frustration and horror, aghast at the cruelty hidden from him and his countrymen. But just as he gives in to despair, an inner strength kicks in, that fire within. One that is stoked by the passionate performance by Szymanski as the inquirer blocked too many times. He pushes Radmann, as the two actors have a great screen rapport, which gives his big third act reveal an extra power. The film’s emotional center may be Krisch who becomes a surrogate for the still-walking wounded, those few survivors. His sad, heavy eyes gives us a window into his haunted existence, dealing with ghosts that will not allow him rest. You see much of that weariness in Voss as Radmann’s boss and encouraging father figure. His belief in the still-green lad prods him toward his quest for the truth. Kudos to actress Friederike Becht for making the hero’s love interest, the seamstress Marlene a complex, conflicted character who helps propel rather than halt the plot’s momentum.

The film does move along at a brisk pace, reminding one of classic conspiracy thrillers, thanks to director Guilio Ricciarelli, who also collaborated on the screenplay with Amelie Syberberg and Elisabeth Bartel. It makes excellent use of period costumes (Marlene’s shop designs) and settings. Particularly impressive is the  towering American Embassy building where a reluctantly helpful US major wonders why the interest in ex-Nazis when the real problem is the “commies” (rumors are rumbling about the city being divided). The film’s focus does somewhat veer off in its last half hour into a hunt for two very famous war criminals who were in hiding (one of them becomes a ghostly “Moby Dick”, disappearing every time the heroes get near). This doesn’t take away from the compelling survivor stories and the country’s stern denial (“No one was a ‘party’ member”) and often plain ignorance (the twenty-somethings are blithely unaware of Auschwitz). Then there are the wrinkled faces of the men accused, some defiant, others looking down in shame. LABYRINTH OF LIES is a compelling, powerful story of how a small, determined group helped to open a nation’s eyes and hearts to acknowledge the sins of its past.

4 Out of 5

LABYRINTH OF LIES opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas