FRANCIA
AMEN
2002 – 35mm – c - 132’
Direction: Constantin Costa Gavras
Screenplay: Jean-Claude Grumberg, Constantin Costa Gavras; from the play Der Stellvertreter by Rolf Hochhuth
Cinematography: Patrick Blossier
Editing: Yannick Kergoat
Set design: Maria Miu, Ari Hantke
Music: Armande Amar
Costumes: Edith Vespérini
Cast: Ulrich Tukur, Mathieu Kassovitz, Ulrich Mühe
Production: KC Medien AG, KG Prods, Katharina, Renn Prods, Le Studio Canal+, Mediapro Pict., TF1 Films Prods
SYNOPSIS
2nd World War: Kurt Gerstein, an SS chemist officer really existed, founds out that Zyclon B, that he has created for disinfestations, is used to eliminate Jewish people. Upset by this revelation and being deeply religious he finds a contact in the milieu of the Catholic Church in order to stop the extermination. He thus meet the young Jesuit Father Riccardo who has many contacts in the Vatican. His hope is that the Pope will denounce the abhorrence.
CRITICAL NOTE
"(…) Served by an extraordinary trio of actors (Tukur, Mühe, Kassovitz), supported by an effective sense of narration and, in particular, by the sequences in the Vatican, these two hours of race against death remains, till the end, a constant punch. Moreover, if Costa Gavras reveals to be one of the greatest directors of his time, it is because he doesn’t mix a great performance with the spectacular. His film cherishes a form of discretion which makes him even more implacable.” (Pierre Vavasseur)
AWARDS
2003 César: Best script to Jean-Claude Grumberg and Constantin Costa Gavras
