Erez Perey's THE INTERROGATION, a landmark film, finally arrives in the USA via home video

 

Made back in 2016, THE INTERROGATION -- the Israeli film co-written (with Sari Turgeman) and directed by Erez Perey (shown below) -- has taken five years to find release here in the USA, thanks to the estimable and risk-taking distributor, Corinth Films. This half-decade delay is due less, TrustMovies opines, to the film's subject matter than to the manner in which that content is handled and the resulting landmark achievement. (Though the film played at various festivals, it never, so far as I can see, found any theatrical or home video release till now.)

A narrative (done in documentary style) based upon the autobiography of Rudolf Franz Ferdinand Höss, the longest-serving commander of the Auschwitz concentration camp, the movie deals with the interrogation of Höss (played by Romanus Fuhrmann, below) by Albert Piotrowski (Maciej Marczewski, two photos below) the  younger Polish investigative judge, chosen in part because of his command of the German language and his ability to better communicate with Höss. 

What the film achieves so well -- better than anything I've so far seen -- is finally helping us understand how "civilized" Germans in the military could have done what they did to the victims in these camps. Yes, it humanizes the perpetrators -- but without in any way lessening the horror of their despicable deeds. 

As The Interrogation progresses, you will finally be able to understand something of what those in charge of the genocide were thinking, feeling and experiencing. This is important in coming to terms with both how The Holocaust happened and how this kind of all-out atrocity might be prevented. 

Mr. Perey's style as both writer and director is to stick as closely to the facts and record as possible, with little dialog given to either the interrogator's own history (we know he is married, with a child who is very ill) or the defendant's personal history -- except in  terms of how that history affected his later acts as camp commander.

All this -- along with the excellent, close-to-the-vest performances from the two leading actors -- forces us to stay on track, our minds primarily concerned with how Herr Höss could have acted as he did. Perey is a subtle filmmaker, allowing minimal amounts of information to carry maximum weight and small changes of facial expression to stand in for what, in other hands, might be reams of dialog.

Visually, the film is a pleasure to view, color- and composition-wise. Even the near-silent visit of a woman (is this his wife, or a prostitute?), below, to the interrogator's hotel room offers the opportunity to imagine how very restrained -- in so many ways -- is this fellow's sad life.

In a mere 83 minutes, the movie manages to move and surprise us, open our eyes and minds, and maybe leaving us murmuring that oft-heard, if seemingly ever-less-hopeful mantra, Never Again!

From Corinth Films, in German and Polish with English subtitles, The Interrogation finally hits home video on DVD and digital streaming (Amazon Prime members can watch as part of their subscription) this Tuesday, March 23 -- for purchase and/or rental.

A not-so-nice piece of Dutch history arrives on-screen in Dan Friedkin's THE LAST VERMEER

The Netherlands, that country from which (some of) TrustMovies' forebears arrived, may be best known world-wide for trying (unsuccessfully) to protect Anne Frank, so it's probably more than a little healthy and salutary to learn about a less mainstream chapter of Dutch history occurring just post-World War II. 

At this point in time, we've already been given a number of movies -- narrative and documentary -- about how Nazi Germany trafficked in stolen art treasures, yet the tale told in the new film, THE LAST VERMEER, in certain ways at least, bests them all. It's amazing -- and then some. And if you don't already know about a man named Han van Meergeren, do not click on the link above until after viewing this film. Otherwise, you'll spoil half the fun of this based-on-true-events movie.

Written by a trio of screenwriters (including John Orloff, who wrote the book on which the film is based) and directed by first-time filmmaker Dan Friedkin (shown at right), the movie is unfortunately very slow-going for the first of its two hours (other than one smart prison-escape scene). I encourage you to stick it out, however, because the second half, including a crackerjack courtroom trial and some fascinating post-trial information, is much more swiftly paced and a lot more fun. 

Part of this is due to the need to pack in a lot of exposition and introduce a box-car full of characters, of which -- no big surprise -- the males register more strongly than do the females. 

Leading roles are taken by Guy Pearce (above), who plays the beleaguered van Meegeren and gives one of his best performances in a long while. As his adversary and then helper is that always interesting actor Claes Bang (below), who plays Joseph Piller, a Jew who fought in the Dutch resistance and is now given the job of investigating van Meegeren and his art dealings during the Nazi occupation. The two actors play off each other very nicely indeed, with Pearce the witty aesthete and Bang the too-serious military man.

Each of the men have a couple of women who scurry around them, adding a little beauty to the proceedings but only as much depth of character as the screenplay allows. Among these, Vicky Krieps (below) is the sweet helper to Piller, while Olivia Grant (two photos below) plays van Meegeren's showy but not terribly intelligent girlfriend.

As I say, the latter half of the film much outdoes the former, with surprise coming upon surprise, the result offering a sad and cynical finale in which few characters come out looking all that good. And though the general population of The Netherlands appear to have had their hearts and minds in the right place back then, you will probably not feel so positive about the country's police, politicians or judiciary.

A word or two must also be said for the movie's best supporting performance -- that of Roland Møller (below) in the role of  Dekker, Piller's second-in-command, who offers occasional but much-needed brawn. Mr. Møller provides everything from wit, versatility and even sex appeal to what could easily have been "just another performance," and the film is much the better for his sterling work. 

Distributed by TriStar Pictures/Sony and running 118 minutes, The Last Vermeer opens this Friday, November 20, more or less nationwide, I believe. Here in South Florida, you can find it at the following AMC threaters: Aventura Mall, Sunset Place, Pompano Beach, Hialeah 12 and Tamiami.