Review of God on Trial (2008) by Zarinah H — 21 Feb 2009

"God on Trial" is an insightful production in the Masterpiece Contemporary series that focuses on a group of Auschwitz inmates who convene a rabbinical court that basically puts God on trial on the charge that God broke his covenant with the Chosen Ones, the sons of Abraham. There are some amazing performances here from some familiar names - Stellan Skarsgard plays a former law professor who presides over the court, Rupert Graves is Mordechai, a modern Jew who is shunned by his father [Jack Shepherd] for turning his back on the traditional Jewish ways, Dominic Cooper plays an angry young Jew who rails against God for forsaking His people, and many more memorable performances.

The arguments swing back and forth as the various individuals make their case - be it in favor of a benevolent God who imposes suffering for a greater good or against an indifferent, wrathful God. This production is first-class - the dialogue is driven by intellectual insights that compel the viewer to think about a lot of things that may cross one's mind but that one never really gives voice to - how does one reconcile a benevolent God with acts of such brutality as perpetrated during the Holocaust and since then [Rwanda, Bosnia, Darfur etc], questions to do with Man's faith, the nature of God etc. I could not stop thinking about all these things long after the show ended.

The introduction to the actual court setting [in an inmates' barracks] is well done - a busload of tourists get off at Auschwitz during a tour, and as they are led from site to site, an older visitor mentions an anecdote about the time some inmates put God on trial. This then provides the setting for the flashback to the past. The ending is truly heartrending - the tourists stop to view the gas chamber and it is a somber moment - but as each tourist keeps a moment of silence, they are 'joined' by the actual inmates who were chosen for death by gassing. Their prayers to God in their final moments effectively conveys the power of faith, but it also emphasises the horror that was the Holocaust without relying on the gruesome depictions of Nazi brutality portrayed in other movies of the genre. A compelling production that is not to be missed.