Conspiracy
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Movie Reviews of Conspiracy
Movie Review: Final Solution to a storage problem
Summary: 5 Stars
CONSPIRACY serves as a reminder of the banality of human evil, even at its most horrific.On January 20, 1942, with Nazi armies stalled in the snow at the gates of Moscow, a lakeside mansion in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee is the venue for a conference. Fifteen government bureaucrats and high ranking officers of the SS gather. History is advised to remember these otherwise appallingly ordinary representatives of the human species: SS General Reinhard Heydrich (Reich Security Main Office), SS Lt. Colonel Adolf Eichmann (Office of Jewish Affairs), SS Lt. General Heinrich Müller (Gestapo), Gerhard Klopfer (Nazi Party Chancellery), Wilhelm Kritzinger (Reichs-Chancellery), SS Lt. General Otto Hofmann (Race and Settlement Main Office), Dr. Georg Liebbrandt and Dr. Alfred Meyer (Reichs-Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories), Dr. Wilhelm Stuckart (Reichs-Ministry of the Interior), Undersecretary Martin Luther (Foreign Ministery), SS Major Rudolf Lange (SS Taskforces in Latvia), Director Erich Neumann (Office of the Four Year Plan), Dr. Joseph Bühler and SS Colonel Karl Schöngarth (Government-General of Occupied Poland), and Dr. Roland Freisler (Reichs-Ministry of Justice).
Even after coerced emigration, 132,000 Jews remain in Germany. As the Wehrmacht gobbles up territory, millions more - potentially 11 million - will come under Nazi control. As it's put in this film, there's a burgeoning "storage problem", and the chairman of the meeting, Heydrich (Kenneth Branagh), is calling for unanimous agreement on a "final solution".
As the viewer sees, it's not the concept of the eradication of the Jews from Germany and the occupied territories that fuels the debate, it's the modus operandi, and which individuals, particularly those of impure blood resulting from a confusing variety of mixed marriages, are to be targeted. At one point, even the semantics of the process - "evacuation" vs. "execution" - are at issue. And, of course, it all must be done legally as proscribed by the Nuremburg Laws. Finally, after the group dances around the issue of method, Heydrich and his deputy Eichmann (Stanley Tucci) get to the crux of the matter. The Jews are to be gassed in special camps established for that purpose. At the current stage of technology, the gold standard is apparently 60,000 exterminations a day.
The impact of CONSPIRACY derives from the chilling ordinariness of the conference and its tone. These fifteen might just as well be the top management of a large corporation discussing the eradication of rats from one of its manufacturing sites, or the construction of an assembly line to produce more and better widgets. As a note of interest, nine of those present were lawyers by training.
Branagh renders a positively brilliant performance as the ultimate devil's advocate, who steers the meeting to its foregone conclusion with a mixture of charm and quiet menace. When Kritzinger (David Threfall) objects that Hitler has declared to him personally that execution of the Jews is not his intent, Heydrich cooly reminds him, "Yes, and he will continue to do so." Plausible deniability, you see. And later in a private conversation when Heydrich demands Kritzinger's full support, the SS General remarks that the latter would be a difficult man to bring down - but it could be managed.
At the film's conclusion, the fate of all involved is provided in text overlay. Heydrich was assassinated by Czech partisans. Eichmann, Bühler and Schöngarth were tried and executed. All the rest either went free for lack of war crimes evidence, served time and were released, died of natural causes, were killed in the closing months of the war, or just disappeared. Indeed, Klopfer sold insurance after the war and presumably died in his bed.
The Final Solution took planning. As Eichmann angrily berates an Army chauffeur for engaging on whim in an undignified snowball fight with his fellow drivers awaiting their masters, "Things just don't happen."
The record of the Wannsee Conference which served as the basis for CONSPIRACY came from Luther's copy of the minutes discovered after the war. Ironically, Luther himself was sent to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in 1944 for plotting against his boss in the Foreign Ministry.
Movie Review: outstanding performance, fascinating subject, grippingly told; bad title
Summary: 5 Stars
This film is simply outstanding. It's an admittedly strange experience to sit through two hours of the Wannsee Conference, the moment when the Nazi leadership decided on the "Final Solution," but if you're interested in the subject matter, the film is extremely well done.
Watching it was unlike watching _Downfall_, which I thought was totally dull and never even finished watching - we not only know how it ends, but most of us probably don't shouldn't care for those down in the bunker in Berlin - so I never really had any investment, other than hoping the end (of the movie and of the cretins cowering in the bunker) would come sooner rather than later. In contrast, _Conspiracy_ is a fascinating exercise, even when we don't care about the individuals - we still wonder, "why did the Nazis decide on the Final Solution?, how did they justify it?."
The film makes one wonder about all kinds of issues, from moral to legal to political. Colin Firth, who plays one of the characters, says it best in the featurette - if it was a meeting where everyone agreed to "kill them all," it would somehow be less shocking - evil people do evil things, no problem understanding that, even if we don't agree with it. But, at Wannsee, or at least in this film portrayal, the attendees debate and discuss everything from military needs, the German social order, various assessments of Jews in Germany and other parts of Europe, and, yes, the methods to solve what most in the room considered to be a problem (although for various reasons). So, if I started the film wondering, "Why am I watching a film depicting a decision made to kill Jews?", I finished astounded at the variety of influences that went into the decision at Wannsee, and at the prowess of the filmmakers and actors who pulled off a totally engrossing film in _Conspiracy_.
Which leads me to my only criticism of the film - its title seems utterly inappropriate and insufficient. Perhaps a "conspiracy" could describe an attempt to kill Hitler, but the only conspiratorial part of the Wannsee conference was to keep it quiet (although why that should be or from whom they wanted to keep the conspiracy wasn't discussed in the film - the characters sure seemed to be all for it, even if they argued over timing, leadership and method). Perhaps a subtitle - even just "the Wannsee Conference" would help. After all, who would want to just watch this movie for its acting and directing - there must be better/easier subjects if you just want a nice movie with a tight plot, great acting, careful directing and tense psychological drama, all of which _Conspiracy_ has.
What this film does so well is bring history alive; perhaps even more so because we, the audience, are forced to sit with some of the most "evil" characters in history and watch as they work out their plan (or really, as Haydrich - played by Kenneth Branagh - pushes his way around and threatens all of the participants to comply with what seems to be an already-worked-out plan of mass extermination through gas chambers. I found myself hoping someone would speak against the plan (knowing that probably no one would); I think it was the excellent craft that went in to the film that enabled me to continue to look for cracks or a way out, or at least to try to understand or even to challenge the participants at the table - all of which kept me wrapped in the film for the duration.
In sum, it's a fantastic film for history fans, helping to dramatize what could otherwise too easily, and perhaps incorrectly, be seen as a bunch of evil guys doing evil just because they're evil. This film shows the complexity of viewpoints, actions, beliefs and statements made in specific situations with various participants representing multiple interests, over banal issues like supplies, timelines, and political maneuvering, and thereby makes the appearance of evil thereby even more shocking.
Movie Review: Very fine docudrama
Summary: 5 Stars
'Conspiracy' is a rare thing, a TV movie that only gets better every time you watch it.
Not that you want to watch it very often, as it's essentially a dramatisation of how the Third Reich came to make its decisions about how the extermination of European Jewry should be planned and carried out. The Nazis called a conference in a villa in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee; after it was over, all those who attended were sent copies of the minutes, and they were supposed to destroy these copies fairly swiftly. However, one attendee failed to do so. This last remaining copy of the minutes of the Wannsee Conference is one of the (many) major pieces of evidence that the Nazis planned the destruction of the European Jews at the highest level, and that it was not merely something that just sort of happened.
'Conspiracy' is a beautifully conceived and intelligently executed movie. The genius of it is that it's basically a movie about a committee meeting. We see the preparation of the buffet (the food looks truly yummy); we see everyone arriving and making small talk; we get a tantalising glimpse of the office politics; we get little glimpses of who has high status and who has low. The SS men (Barnaby Kay and Peter Sullivan) are tired, battle-hardened and cynical. The guy in charge of planning the economic future of the Reich (Ewan Stewart) is a naive and hopeful drone, constantly introducing himself to people and being snubbed in return. The lawyer who drew up the Nuremberg laws regarding the legal status of German Jews (Colin Firth), laws that this conference is about to consign to the dustbin of history, is simmering with barely-suppressed anger and resentment. Not because he's angry about the way Jews are being treated, but because he can see that all his hard work is about to be brushed aside. The only person in the room who appears to have anything resembling sympathy for the Jews is the representative of the Reich Chancellery (David Threlfall), and he's too pussy to do anything about it.
The acting honours go to all, as this is a real ensemble piece. But it's worth mentioning Stanley Tucci, who presents Adolf Eichmann as a classic kiss-up-kick-down middle management guy, nodding and smiling at his leader's taste in music and then dismissing it with contempt once the boss has left the room; and especially Kenneth Branagh as the top man at the conference, Reinhard Heydrich, who was at the time the head of the SS Security Service and one of the most feared men in Europe. The light-hearted way in which Branagh warns Firth not to try to stop the SS from doing whatever the hell it wants (because, he casually remarks as he lights a cigarette, 'there is no shortage of meathooks' in the Third Reich) is truly chilling. Branagh never scowls, never grimaces, never gets angry, never bullies anyone, never loses his glamorous cool. He smiles and smiles and smiles, but the implicit threat is always there. It's a great performance.
The script is incredibly economical, and expands on the historical evidence in a way that I (who have read quite a bit on the subject) find to be a respectable balance between the historically plausible and the dramatically effective. The direction is subtle and intelligent. Nobody here is presented as a spooky evil villain - the film is about the many ways in which they convince themselves that they're doing the right thing. And the acting, like I said, is top-notch. I would recommend this film to be shown in schools. It shows what happens when people think that their cause is so righteous that it justifies any kind of behaviour.
Movie Review: Something we all ought to see
Summary: 5 Stars
In January 1942, at an elegant villa at Berlin-Wannsee, a group of Nazi officials from various ministries and departments, the majority educated, cultured men, many with higher degrees, came together under the chairmanship of SS-Obergruppenfuehrer Reinhard Heydrich, head of the RSHA (Reich Main Security Office, which covered all of Germany's police forces). In a few hours, which included some elegant dining, they basically decided the fate of European Jewry. It was as if they were deciding on a programme of vermin extermination, which, in the eyes of fanatical Nazis, it was. No consideration of the humanity of these people was given. Herr Dr. Stuckart, lawyer and proud author of the Nuremburg Racial Laws, was concerned with their proper, meticulous observance. This was his sole bone of contention, not the basic fact that an entire group of humans was to be marginalised and deported from the Reich, not because of anything they'd done, but because of who they were. Indeed, the only minor concessions were those who had "German" (non-Jewish) spouses and "Mischlinge" (mixed race people). Of all the many inhumanities of man to man, this surely ranks as one of, if not the, greatest iniquities ever perpetrated.
This meeting was not only to decide on the Final Solution, but also to establish the supremacy of the RSHA over all other German departments in the matter. And Heydrich, with the help of his Hebrew-speaking time-and-motion man Adolf Eichmann, got what he wanted.
Having recently read Mark Roseman's "The lake, the villa, the meeting" and now knowing how little we know about what was actually said at Wannsee (only one protocol survives and the accounts of the survivors are probably self-serving and justifying), I was curious as to how one produced a dramatised version. The answer is, very impressively. Naturally nobody knows what was really said, as all notes and records were destroyed, but the whole production has the ring of truth about it.
In the middle of it all was ringmaster Reinhard Heydrich, chillingly played here by Kenneth Branagh. Heydrich works his potential opponents, sometimes in the meeting, sometimes in quiet asides over food. The geniality of the Branagh character was probably much more that that of the real Heydrich, who had the reputation of being somewhat of a cold fish and a thoroughly nasty individual, but it's a wonderful performance, with steel under the geniality, rapidly emerging at the first hint of resistance to his ideas.
All in all, a nicely-acted, chilling production of a monstrous misdeed, and it all happened within living memory in one of the world's most civilised, cultured countries. If that doesn't scare you, nothing will. Could it happen again? Of course it could, so we must always be on our guard against people who know all the answers.
One minor irritation for finicky me. The opening scene has a view of Heydrich's plane coming in to land, taken from above. The wings bear swastikas, instead of the Luftwaffe's "Balkenkreuz" (the swastika was placed only on vertical tail surfaces). Perhaps the producers saw the need to use the symbol of evil to set the scene right from the start.
Movie Review: Conspiracy
Summary: 5 Stars
An eclectic group of fifteen men gathered in a former Jewish residence, at distance from the fighting, in order to solve a most troublesome, petulant quandary, the Jewish question. Called upon by Hitler, as the German army became sessile in their drive toward Moscow, the conference concludes in the creation of legal framework designed to remove the Jewish population.Interrupted by smoking, gorging and underhanded, persuasive techniques they determined the fate and solution to the Jewish problem and lead ultimately to the demise of millions of innocents. Over two hours, and with ample supply of spirit and fare, the techniques for excision, eradication, and extermination of the Jews became a reality.
Although the Germans were meticulous in their obsessive record keeping, the Wannsee conference was documented in short; the only surviving manuscript the basis for this film. However, it is the meticulous cold hearted recording of laws establishing Jew from non-Jew which communicates the depravity of the Nazi mindset, portraying them as a true species of brutality.
Long sequences of dialogue restricted to a small set comprise the majority of the film. The one break in the dialogue is a wide panning shot across a cold desolate landscape capturing the approach of General Heydrich, who called the meeting under the pretext of deporting the Jews from Europe. While the film does not flash mutilated corpses in hopes of stirring some sense of sympathetic guilt, it instead casts a calculated demeanor on the faces of the characters. Sitting at the center of the table Heydrich announces to the group the number of Jews remaining in German controlled territory. Displaying charts and figures of the Jews still in need of "transport" the dehumanization becomes vividly apparent. Before such accommodations are finalized they calculate with cruel subjectivism the specific traits and relationships which denote a Jew. From this conversation the audience learns that a small majority of Germans and German families are to be disassembled and dealt with in a manner comparable to an animal to the slaughter. Those who object to the "evacuation" of the Jews, namely Kritzinger and Stuckart are humored, for the decision to build camps and gassing facilities is not truly dependent on the proceedings of the confrence but rather the available labor to construct such infrastructure. The gas chambers and sterilization methods have been proven through rigorous trials on the mentally defunct, and they joke turning the bodies pink.
"Conspiracy" is not only an amazing historical account but also chilling in the unconventional mathematically cold façade employed by the cast. Captivating without an action hero or machine gun fire, this film is truly worth the 90+ minutes. Prepare to explore the realms of human depravity in this thrilling historical thriller.