TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Mark Turner While many movies have been made about WWII and the Holocaust, few have been made concerning the rebuilding of Germany after the war. There is little doubt that this would have been a fascinating time in history to examine and yet I for one have rarely heard it discussed. Until now. LABYRINTH OF LIES tells the story of what could have been the greatest cover up in history had it not been for several brave individuals who wanted to make sure the truth was told.Johann Radmann (Alexander Fehling) is a recent addition to the prosecutor's office in Frankfurt. The year is 1958 and the war has been over now for 13 years. Given the task of handling minor cases like traffic tickets, Radmann has his curiosity piqued when a journalist confronts the head prosecutor claiming that a man has recognized one of the guards from Auschwitz working as a grade school teacher. Ignored by the head man, Radmann takes it upon himself to talk to Thomas Gnielka (Andre Szymanski), the reporter.While many of us today know full well what happened at Auschwitz at this time it wasn't common knowledge. Gnielka takes Radmann with him to meet Simon Kirsch, the Auschwitz survivor who gave him this information. As Radmann gets more and more involved in the lives of these two men as well as becoming a part of their circle of friends, he wants to take on this case. But that's where the first impediment comes in as his supervisor wants the case ignored. Fortunately that's not the case with the head of the department, Fritz Bauer (Gert Voss).A Jew himself, Bauer appoints Radmann the head of the investigation and sets him up with his own secretary and office. Radmann begins to look into Simon's claim but finds his path blocked by people in his government as well as U.S. representatives remaining after the occupation. No one wants the truth of Auschwitz to be revealed and they will do anything to keep what happened secret.With the guiding hand of Bauer to set him on the right path, Radmann begins to uncover the secret history of Auschwitz and what was done by the German people, some just following orders but the more horrendous of the group giving those orders with apparent glee and joy. At the top of his list is Josef Mengele. When Radmann learns that Mengele travels without fear between Germany and his home in South America he is outraged. But it is his focus on Mengele that nearly brings his investigation to a halt. Only through dogged determination will he find the opportunity to find those behind Auschwitz.What makes this movie interesting is not the story of Auschwitz itself but the fact that so many were willing to hide this piece of history for what they considered the greater good, the rebuilding of a country already devastated by a war their leaders had created. But can the healing actually take place if the wounds are hidden rather than taken care of? That becomes the central question asked in this film.It's not just the bureaucrats that attempt to ignore the past either. A side story of Radmann falling in love with a beautiful dress designer who is part of that Bohemian group that Gnielka surrounds himself with ties in with the story as well. While outraged at first when well connected and wealthy bureaucrats and their wives set her up with her own shop and business, she begins to find that she too is caught up in the silence rather than the correction of history. Like most of those who were involved in the war she simply wants to move on and forget about the past no matter how terrible the atrocities were.Let me say now that if subtitles are not your thing you'll probably pass this one by. But if you do you short change yourself from seeing a great movie. It's not a metaphor for current history, it's not making a hugely political statement about the world today, it's discussing the past and a history that was not just almost forgotten but hidden away under mounds of paperwork and by people who were once involved in those brutal places but now are connected enough with officials that they feel safe.The movie has a stunning look to it with some beautiful cinematography that could have been found drab but instead feels real. The acting it done so well that even with translation the performances on display here convey the emotions so well that you find yourself wondering from moment to moment what will happen next as well as being involved with each character on screen.When all is said and done, in what some have found a slightly faulty ending wrapping things up too neatly, you have a compelling story that offers zero dull moments and plenty of drama that will hold your attention from start to finish. For me a great movie is one that I know I'll pull out and watch again. This is one of those movies.

Paul Allaer "Labyrinth of Lies" (2014 release from Germany; original title "Im Labyrinth des Schweigens" or "In the Labyrinth of Silence" 122 min.) brings the story of the events leading up to the so-called Frankfurt Auschwitz trials in 1963. As the movie opens, we are told it is "Frankfurt-am-Main, 1958", and we get to know a young prosecutor named Johann Radmann, who is just starting his career, doing traffic violations. But soon he gets (and seizes) the opportunity to look into the case of a Waffen SS soldier who was a commander at Auschwitz and is now teaching in grade school as if nothing ever happened. Radmann soon finds that there is widespread resistance to his efforts to prosecute ex-Nazis. At this point, we are 15 minutes into the movie but to tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.Couple of comments: this movie is an important reminder that the sentiment in Germany wasn't always what it is nowadays and has been for decades. It appears that after WW II, the entire country went about its business as if nothing had happened, and collectively tries to whitewash Auschwitz from memory. But as Radmann points out, "to remain silent is to poison our country's democracy". So he speaks up. It is an incredible story. Kudos to the movie's producers for bringing us this important historical reminder. Besides the important moral and historical aspects, the movie does a great job portraying what daily life in the late 50s and early 60s was in West Germany. Check out the great looking cars! "Labyrinth of Lies" was Germany's submission for this year's Best Foreign Language Movie Oscar nominations, which should give you an idea how well the movie was viewed in its home country (the fact that it didn't get the Oscar nomination doesn't diminish the merits of the movie)."Labyrinth of Lies" was released over a year ago. I have no idea why it is just now finding its way into US theaters, but better late than never. The movie showed up this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, I figure this won't stick around for long. The Sunday matinée screening where I saw this at was surprisingly well attended, I am happy to report. If you are in the mood for a top-notch quality foreign movie that has a very important lesson and reminder, I urge you to check out "Labyrinth of Lies", be it in the theater, on Amazon Instant Video or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray. "Labyrinth of Lies" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

s3276169 Labyrinth of Lies is an insight into the price of silence and denial.The silence in this case surrounds the atrocities committed by ordinary people at Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. The silence is an enforced one where people who dare raise their voice in opposition face denial and even condemnation. The team of German lawyers operating out of what was, at the time, West Germany, face silent opposition that extends to people within the criminal justice system. Their efforts to investigate the Auschwitz war crimes meet with objections that, typically, try to explain away the atrocities as an unfortunate by product of war, that should be forgotten. This film is based on a true story and its worth noting up front its a harrowing watch. Much of what you hear will stay with you long after the film has ended. That said, it also affirms the need for us all to refuse to stay silent in the face of hatred and political extremism. Its a very relevant film too, because many of the political and racial attitudes found in this film don't go away. Indeed, as we are seeing today, systems of apartheid and Fascism are still very much in currency. This film is in German so it does have subs. That said, its so capably directed, the acting of such a high standard and its subject presented in such a simple but deeply moving manner, that this really does not matter. A superb film everyone should see. Ten out of ten from me.

Lucas Versantvoort It's always fascinating to see how WWII still lives on. The question of remembering vs letting bygones be bygones is still as relevant as ever. It seems like every year or so another film on the Holocaust is released. All the more interesting then when it's Germany releasing such a film. Im Labyrinth des Schweigens takes a (for me at least) little explored subsection of postwar Germany, the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials that started in 1963.Johann Radmann is a typical protagonist: young and ambitious; he's also a lawyer. Besides the fact he, like many of his countrymen, is oblivious to the horrors of Auschwitz and the Holocaust is his only character flaw. When an angry journalist alerts him to this fact, he starts to pursue the case of the unprosecuted SS officers with unmatched zeal. Time and again, however, he finds himself with confronted with a society either too ignorant or too unwilling to air its dirty laundry, to really get its troubled past out in the open. Nevertheless, after a herculean effort on the part of Radmann and others, the trial did eventually took place which led to the conviction of 17 people—Gestapos, dentists, adjutants and so on—who were involved in the horrors of Auschwitz.If there's anything Im Labyrinth des Schweigens does well, it's conveying the very silence conveyed in the title. The notion that Nazism was rooted out with the Nuremberg trials is treated with great disdain by the film. The film conveys the naiveté of many of Germany's citizens at the time as well as their reasons for doing so. There's a short scene that perfectly encapsulates this idea: Radmann and his superior are at odds with two colleagues. One of them states that digging up this part of Germany's past can only do more harm than good. Just now, when we're 'trying to move on', a case like this might force every German child to look at his parents with suspicion. Such an effect is toxic he claims to which Radmann's superior responds that it's precisely the forced silence which is toxic, particularly in a democracy which is still so young. In a single short scene we're treated to a convincing representation of both sides of the argument.The film has two weaknesses: strange tonal shifts and a boring, irrelevant romance. The first one is difficult to describe as it makes it sound like I wanted Im Labyrinth to be a melodramatic trauermarsch of sorts with zero comic relief. This is not the case. Aptly timed humor and other non-dramatic content can add greatly to character development and so on, but with Im Labyrinth I felt there were certain tonal inconsistencies. It also doesn't help the film features an incredibly forced romance between Radmann and a young woman. I get that the romance is there to generate a conflict not dissimilar to Fincher's Zodiac, where the investigator's family life is threatened by his obsessions. Im Labyrinth tries to do the same thing, but—save for a few moments—the romance is never really connected to the main storyline, so it feels like an afterthought. There's also some really cringe-worthy writing: during their first (and thankfully only) lovemaking session, she for some reason tells him that 'life's good'…uhh, okay. You see where I'm going with this? It just feels like it's going through the motions. The filmmakers first create the obligatory romance and then threaten to disrupt it to make us feel for Radmann, but it never works. This is made all the more strange by the fact that a certain plot twist regarding Radmann's own family is far more convincing in making us feel for him.All in all though, despite the occasional cringe, Im Labyrinth des Schweigens is very interesting to watch. In the end, it undeniably succeeds at what is undoubtedly its main task: illuminating the why and how of Germany's postwar silence on the Holocaust.