The erosion of Constantin Costa-Gavras' storytelling skills hasn't been gradual. Or pretty.
The Greek filmmaker once made a name for himself with such vivid, powerful thrillers as "Missing" (1982) and "Z" (1969). But the last time we saw him, he was stumbling badly with the misfire "Mad City," a dark comedy that didn't appear to know it was supposed to be a comedy.
Five years later, he's returned to more dramatic territory with "Amen," a dramatic thriller based on some real events during World War II. But this is like a Costa-Gavras movie that's been bleached and left out to dry. It's so inert, so slow-moving that it seems at least twice as long as it really is, and it manages to waste a potentially fascinating premise.
SS officer Kurt Gerstein (Ulrich Tukur) is experiencing feelings of guilt regarding the extermination of European Jews, having seen how callous his fellow officers are about the slaughter. However, his options are limited. If he protests, he could be killed. And yet, he can't stand by and do nothing.
Fortunately, he meets Riccardo Fontana (Mathieu Kassovitz), a young Jesuit priest who's also horrified to learn of the atrocities taking place. Together, the two men try to find a way to get word to the Vatican, hoping for some sort of intervention.
Easier said than done. Even if they are able to pass along that information, there are still no guarantees that anything will be done.
Costa-Gavras makes an interesting choice by telling the story from the perspective of the SS officer and keeping the concentration camp scenes to a minimum. Unfortunately, the film also seems bereft of an emotional hook, and frankly, neither of the lead characters is all that interesting. The performances by Tukur and Kassovitz are solid but unspectacular. And Costa-Gavras and co-screenwriter Jean-Claude Grumberg's dialogue is cliche-ridden and never offers any real insight.
"Amen" is not rated but would probably receive a PG-13 for scenes of violence (shootings, beatings and other Holocaust violence) as well as use of ethnic slurs and mild profanity (religiously based). Running time: 132 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com
