In one of the more bizarre documentaries to come out of French cinema, this is a record of a confrontation between ex-Nazi SS officer Alfred Filbert, several Orthodox Jews, and the director of this documentary Thomas Harlan (son of Veit Harlan who made films for the Third Reich). Director Harlan talked Alfred Filbert into coming to Paris for this documentary, ostensibly a biography of the ex-Nazi officer. When the aged Filbert is in the studio, a group of Orthodox Jews, some Holocaust survivors, are brought in to confront the man. Filbert was convicted in a 1959 war crimes trial, and served his sentence until 1976 when he was released due to "failing eyesight" (not in evidence here). As Filbert accuses director Harlan of underhanded deception and tries to leave, his way out is blocked by technicians while Harlan shouts out the 1959 criminal charges against him -- an unusual, inexplicable documentary indeed.
by Eleanor Mannikka
synopsis
