The performances of the main characters are
so realistic that it’s sometimes hard to remember that these are actors playing
roles. (Review by Patrick Compton)
I’m a sucker for courtroom dramas and they
don’t come much better than Christian Frosch’s absorbing reconstruction of the
true-life trial of a Nazi functionary that took place in Graz, in Austria, in
1963.
Franz Murer was in charge of the Jewish
ghetto in Vilnius during a period in World War 2, and according to the
testimony of many Jews who were incarcerated there, he fully deserved his
fearful nickname, “the butcher of Vilnius”.
But, as the film gradually leaks out from
the courtroom into the smoke-filled rooms of political power, matters are not
as simple as we might wish. Murer is a respected member of a highly
conservative community and there is a strong desire to leave the country’s
murky past behind and blame the fact that Murer has been brought to trial on
various conspiracies.
Moreover, Murer’s defence advocate
skillfully exploits any inconsistencies in the testimony of the former ghetto
dwellers; after all, small details can sometimes be only foggily recalled after
a gap of 20 years.
This is also a trial by jury, and
prejudices still lie deep within the minds of the average Austrian juror...
The performances of the main characters are
so realistic that it’s sometimes hard to remember that these are actors playing
roles.
Aside from the intricacies of the courtroom
drama, the film gradually unpeels the often banal nature of evil and the fact
that truth and justice can play second fiddle to the political imperatives of
the time.
Forming part of the Durban International
Film Festival, Murer – Anatomy of a Trial
will be showing again at Musgrave 3 at 20h30 on Saturday, July 27. – Patrick Compton
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