The German Doctor

(Wakolda)

In select theaters
February 7^th 2014

pg13

93 minutes

Spanish
German
Hebrew

Argentina
France
Spain

Patagonia, 1960. A German doctor (Alex Brendemühl) meets an Argentinean family and follows them on a long desert road to a small town where the family will be starting a new life. Eva (Natalia Oreiro), Enzo (Diego Peretti) and their three children welcome the doctor into their home and entrust their young daughter, Lilith (Florencia Bado), to his care, not knowing that they are harboring one of the most dangerous criminals in the world. At the same time, Israeli agents are desperately looking to bring THE GERMAN DOCTOR to justice. Based on filmmaker Lucía Puenzo’s (XXY) fifth novel, the story follows Josef Mengele, the “Angel of Death,” a German SS officer and a physician at the Auschwitz concentration camp, in the years he spent “hiding”, along with many other Nazi’s, in South America following his escape from Germany. Mengele was considered to be one of WWII’s most heinous Nazi war criminals.

89% on the CINEMETER

BOCA

90% - Jan 5, 2014

It had everything a film should have!
Boca Raton Member

Intense, suspenseful, compelling.
Boca Raton Member

Difficult theme but worthwhile film and important to see. Should be released nationwide.
Boca Raton Member

Kept my interest all the way thru. Hope it makes the short list for the Oscars.
Boca Raton Member

BOS

84% - Dec 8, 2013

Brilliant atmosphere and cinematography.
Boston Member

Chilling story, well-told. Informative historically speaking
Boston Member

Excellent guest speaker and discussion. Fascinating film, extremely well done. Scenery was extraordinary.
Boston Member

84% - Dec 8, 2013

Great soundtrack - suspenseful without being too scary,
Washington, DC Member

Great film. All the creepiness of Rosemary's Baby, plus the suspense of Hitchcock!
Washington, DC Member

For this subject matter it is hard to use the word terrific, but it was.
Washington, DC Member

Gripping, suspenseful. Loved the moral ambiguity of this film. OMG, I wanted The Doctor to escape! But certainly wanted Nora to live as well. Didn't know it was Mengele until the end of the film - best way to see this movie.
Washington, DC Member

Wonderful portrayal of pure evil!
Washington, DC Member

A cross between "The Shining" and "The Visitor" - started out creepy and stayed that way. Beautiful scenery and good acting. I liked the way Mengele was not an absolute villain - but he was close to it!
Washington, DC Member

A thriller - I was on the edge of my seat. Dolls were a great metaphor - the visuals of the sketchbook were amazing and shocking.
Washington, DC Member

STL

90% - Dec 15, 2013

Gripping, suspenseful. Subtly unfolded the message without being heavy handed. Use of the notebook and drawings was fascinating, effective … and, of course, awful.
St. Louis Member

A mesmerizing juxtaposition of good and evil, beauty and ugliness, trust and betrayal. Nothing is more puzzling to me and intriguing than the process of how an individual transforms into such a Machiavellian creature.
St. Louis Member

Fitting metaphor with those dolls. Mengele explains his interest in mass producing them “so they will all be alike” just as the Nazi goal with the “master race.” Fascinatingly horrible. Even though he knew this family, he continued to experiment on the twins—sugar in the formula? This act, although fictional, illustrates how the evil nature of man goes all the way through—is never extinguished.
St. Louis Member

I appreciated a horror film free of blood and gratuitous carnage. The lack thereof left me to Mengele’s imagination which is more suspenseful and frightening and perhaps chillingly accessible/impactful than anything anyone could capture through literal imagery.
St. Louis Member

I liked the slow build up. By the time you understand what was happening, you were immersed in the plot.
St. Louis Member

91% - Dec 8, 2013

I'm still shaking. Terrific film - the sense of dread and the building of suspense was really effective. Creepy, suspenseful, like the edge of a knife.
San Francisco Member

Beautfiul setting and cinematography, so many symbols of "beauty" in a movie about pure evil. Very well done.
San Francisco Member

Riveting. Both the Mengele story line and the experience of an adolescent girl outside the physical norm. The doctor's insinuation into the family reminded me of my hometown pedophile.
San Francisco Member

A great thriller. The doll motif was the creepiest…great way to underscore the inhumane doctor and his Argentinian sympathizers.
San Francisco Member

90% - Dec 8, 2013

Excellent - thank you, Ms. Fradinger! [NB: MANY COMPLIMENTS ON THE CARDS TO THE GUEST SPEAKER]
Greater New Haven Member

An astonishing accomplishment on every level. Wondrous and terrifying. Artistically, the tango between the dollmaker's views and Mengele's objectives brought another layer to the story.....A masterpiece, and an important movie for the world to see.
Greater New Haven Member

Wonderful creation of a plausible scenario of Mengele's post-war life [although] the preview notes took some of the discovery out of the film [NB: A NUMBER OF AUDIENCE MEMBERS FELT THE SAME WAY]. Lead actor was appropriately sinister, and no attempt was made to make him in the least "human," sympathetic or "explainable."
Greater New Haven Member

Outstanding pacing - constant tension!
Greater New Haven Member

The tour of the doll factory was one of the most chilling scenes I've seen on film.
Greater New Haven Member

Historia. History is a slaughterbench, said Hegel. Seeing this film would not have changed his mind.
Greater New Haven Member

MIL

92% - Dec 15, 2013

Very eerie thought provoking movie; certainly one that will make you think for days after.
Milwaukee Member

A very compelling horror story and beautifully filmed.
Milwaukee Member

Wonderful scenary and good music!
Milwaukee Member

ATL

89% - Dec 15, 2013

Found myself holding my breath - excellent!
Atlanta Member

This just screams "Alfred Hitchcock." A great adaptation of a true story. Wow!
Atlanta Member

Compelling story, wonderful cinematography that helps set the mood for the story. Interesting parallel with the dolls and the doctor's subjects. Perfection is the ultimate goal.
Atlanta Member

"Lolita" meets "The Boys from Brazil" with a soupcon of "The Shining." How do you say that in German?
Atlanta Member

IDP/Samuel Goldwyn Films