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Papal atrocities >> Filmmaker Costa-Gavras explores Vatican indifference to Nazi crimes in Amen. by MATTHEW HAYS
“The Pope at that time really was considered a saint,” filmmaker Constantin Costa-Gavras tells me. Thus when he saw a production of the play The Representative (by Rolf Hochhuth) at that time, he was taken with its themes and historical analysis of Papal silence during World War II. “The play was a big scandal at the time because someone was actually suggesting that the Pope hadn’t acted correctly,” Costa-Gavras recalls. “What fascinated me most about the work for so many years is precisely the silence. I liked the two central characters, the fact that they were resisting from within—both of them are part of the system, but both are resisting from the inside.” Now, Costa-Gavras
and co-screenwriter Jean-Claude Grumberg have taken Hochhuth’s
play and adapted it into a feature-length film. Retitled Amen., the
film looks at the dilemma faced by SS member Kurt Gerstein (Ulrich Tukur),
who realizes early on that the Third Reich was neither relocating Jews
nor sending them to labour camps, but rather exterminating them en masse.
Though others urged Gerstein to resign, his conscience told him that
by gathering evidence and writing a detailed report of what he knew
from within, he might stand a chance of convincing foreign governments
and the Pope to act, effectively saving lives. The film depicts a callous
and nonchalant Vatican hierarchy and governments that were all too willing
to look the other way, despite the encroaching genocide. Second takes on the Third Reich Costa-Gavras
is certainly conscious of the fact that his film ties into a recent
wave of re-examination of WWII, everything from Spielberg’s Saving
Private Ryan to Polanski’s La Pianiste, which won at Cannes. “The
second World War is a historical period that will be revisited again
and again by writers and filmmakers,” he contends. “It’s
a period where human reactions to the horror were so extreme and big.
This was the first time humans actually created an industry to destroy
people. It was also the first time the capitalists and communists—sworn
enemies—got together to destroy their enemy. It’s a period
that’s extraordinarily dramatic, so I think you’ll always
find something new to examine.” Is Costa-Gavras worried that the
Nazis have become an all-too-easy cinematic cliché? “In
some action movies they are overused, yes. It can be a bit overdone
in terms of creating an instant bad guy.” Missing in action Moral ambiguity and questions of political and human conscience are a specialty for Costa-Gavras. In films like Z, The Music Box and State of Siege, he examined complex quandaries of personal loyalty and political responsibility. His most famous and influential film, however, is almost certainly Missing, a feature Oscar-nominated for Best Picture which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Hollywood has changed a whole lot since then, and sitting down with Costa-Gavras, I can’t help but pose the question: are social-issue films like Missing dead and gone? “I think it’s amazing that you ask that, because two weeks ago there was a 20th anniversary screening of Missing in New York. And the producers and I were talking, and one said, ‘You know, Costa, there’s no way to make films like these any more.’ The system has changed completely. I think perhaps some independent directors could do it, but Hollywood is under the hands of the bankers and the moneymakers. So the economy has changed completely. Salaries are so high for the stars now. They’re just cloning movies. Which is unfortunate, because Hollywood made great social issue movies, ever since the ’30s. Even in the silent period, there were some extraordinary ones. I remember going to the universities on tour with Missing—the reactions were amazing.” Costa-Gavras is aware also that Hollywood has a way of digesting history quite late. Altman, for example, was clearly commenting on Vietnam in ’70 with MASH, but was forced to set the film in Korea instead. Does Costa-Gavras see a day when Hollywood could examine the extent of hatred for the West in the Mideast? “Of course, there are going to be lots of movies against the terrorists in the near future. Suspense and action, for example. There are other things to be said, but that’s going to be harder to do. Of course terrorism has to be combatted, but at the same time, there has to some explanation of why. Why the anger? Also, there must be some explanation that there are other solutions to the terrorism, not just military, but political. “‘Why’
is a truly important question. There was a Brazilian cardinal who said
years ago, ‘When I give food to the poor, they say I’m a
saint. But when I ask why the poor don’t have food, they say I’m
a communist.’” : Amen., opens Friday, June 14 |
Though
Pope Pius XII’s silence in the face of horrific Nazi acts of genocide
has now become the subject of a high-profile debate, in the ’60s,
such a discussion was considered quite shocking.