Review of Amen. (2002) by Bob V — 06 Mar 2010

A savage tour de force. With the exception of such movies as "Schindler's List" and the western documentary release of "Mein Kampf," the Holocaust -- engineered by the Nazi regime under Adolf Hitler which killed 13 million people (Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, mentally retarded, insane, political prisoners, Jehovah's Witnesses and intellectuals comprising 99% of that figure) -- has been the subject of far too many inferior efforts by Hollywood and other film makers. "Amen." is a wonderful exception.

The astute viewer is shocked in an entirely new way by the Holocaust. The first victim at every stage along the way is TRUTH and the film makes you ache and cry for truth and courage and simple integrity like nothing you've every hurt for before. At a time when America's Constitution and traditional values are suffering from progressivist revisionism, the simple clear values of truth and the necessity to be able to trust and believe in our institutions such as family, church and government once again, this movie is not only outstanding in itself, but also a clear reminder of what's at stake in America today. My church and others made a big deal about the anti-religious message of the movie -- Balderdash, there is no anti-religious message, there is only truth. If today's Catholic "powers that be" wish to "clear" Galileo several centuries too late and wish to condemn the actions of the Pope before and during World War II several centuries off in our future . . . remember, they are RIGHT NOW making truth a victim all over again.

One thing that the church made a big deal out of was that only one fictional priest is shown as a hero. This is the only major failing of the movie; at the end of the film they needed to say this: "The character of priest Ricardo is a fictional composite of the dozens of heroic priests across Europe who tried in vain to get the Vatican to act and the hundreds of other priests who tried in more direct ways to stop the persecution and murder of the Jews and others." Along those same lines, the movie could well have shown the Jehovah's Witnesses (No, I don't enjoy their visits to my door stoop, either)who not only were the only consistently brave and forthright religious group in Nazi Germany in opposition to Herr Hitler right from 1933 on, but who suffered the same tragic fate in the concentration camps because of their righteous bravery.