EICHMANN – THE SOLDIER. THE FATHER. THE MONSTER.

Ok, heads up, this is a Second World War film. Another one. Now I’m sure you have your own view on that statement; I am personally one of those who are not sick and tired of them. Not of the good ones at any rate. And Eichmann is definitely “a good one”.
My only criticism of the film would be that it pre-supposes a bit of general knowledge; in brief, the answers to the questions “Who was Adolf Eichmann, and what did he do?” (To be fair though, they are pretty easy to pick up as you go along)To those of us who do not know, he was a high ranking Nazi officer who was in charge of the “coordination” of concentration camps. He was responsible for every aspect, from the work to the transport. His coldness and cruelty were a thing of legend. In 1960, he was captured and brought to Israel. He was tried for war crimes and executed. Before his trial, he was interrogated by the military prosecutor Avner Less. The film is based on the transcripts of these interviews.
Thomas Kreschnann and Troy Garity (who play Eichmann and Less respectively) have pulled of quite a feat. Although flashbacks of Eichmann’s past and Less’s life outside the interrogation chamber play an important part, the two men’s dialogues constitute the backbone of the film and never once lose their sense of purpose…
As to the subject matter, what makes this film fresh to my eyes is that apart from showing the horrors of the Nazi regime, the film also tries to understand what went on in the minds of its administrators. And that, in my view, is a very good question indeed.
Take the case of Eichman. Before us we have a seemingly average army officer. Loving father of four. Womaniser with several mistresses. The single handed organizer of the death camps that took the lives of millions of human beings. And of course the defense is as easy to predict as the events are easy to research : “I was following orders.” “I was not responsible.” What we find out here, along with Avner Less, is how this defense was born. And how it is actually possible for the defendant to believe it in a way… I do not want to give away more of the film than I can help but let me put it this way. If you ever read something, no matter how brief, about the Nazi regime – or dictatorships anywhere – and wondered “what the hell they were thinking”, this a very good stab and an answer. Let me also add that the conclusion reached is hair-raisingly human…