The Greek director Costa-Gavras (real name Constantinos Gavras) is hardly a prolific director. He's made less than 20 films in the last 40 years. However, what he lacks in quantity he makes up for in quality. Any film with his name on it is worth watching, whether it was filmed in Greece, America, France or Germany. His films deal with political issues, and this film, based on true events, is no exception. "Amen" deals with the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church during World War 2, when it refused to take a stand against the slaughter of Jews. More than anything it's a moral drama, showing how a man can be good when all around him are evil. This film is breathtaking in its intensity and should be watched by everyone, whether you are Catholic or not.
Incidentally, here's a film trivia for people who like weird coincidences. When the actor Ulrich Tukur was asked to play the role of SS officer Kurt Gerstein he bought a biography about him to learn about the character. In the book he read that Gerstein had lived in the same house in Tübingen where Tukur had lived as a student. Was he destined to play the role?
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