Amen.

Rolf Hochhuth's play The Deputy caused a sensation when it first appeared in 1963, with its accusation that Pope Pius XII tacitly accepted the Nazi Final Solution and betrayed his moral duty to speak out forcefully against the slaughter of the Jews. Over the ensuing decades, the drama faded into obscurity, but Constantin Costa-Gavras—one of the most activist mainstream filmmakers—unearthed it for this 2002 adaptation. Amen. centers on two men: Kurt Gerstein (Ulrich Tukur), an SS chemist who after discover that a process he devised has become the preferred means of killing Jews in the death camps tries to bring notice of the atrocity to the papal nuncio in Munich; and Riccardo Fontana (Mathieu Kassovitz), the nuncio's young secretary, who approaches the pope with this information, believing that Pius will act on it immediately. But the Vatican proves reluctant to mount a protest, preferring to allow Hitler to defeat Stalin before denouncing him. And when word of the genocide is passed along to the American ambassador, he too proves hesitant to speak out. Amen. is earnest and well-made, and while more of a stimulating bit of polemic than a gripping drama, it remains quite worthwhile for historical reasons. Extras include an audio commentary by the director and film critic Wade Major, and a BBC documentary on Pope Pius XII. Recommended. (F. Swietek)