Conspiracy

"Do Jews have a hell?" asks one of fifteen Nazi officers and government functionaries attending a secret conference in 1942. "Yes," he's informed, "we provide it." This chilling moment comes near the beginning of this original HBO production, nominated for 10 Emmy awards, that dramatically recreates the Wannsee Conference, where the fate of six million Jews were sealed. Kenneth Branagh won Best Actor honors for his performance as Reinhard Heydrich (later infamous as "the Butcher of Prague"), who convened the meeting ("to be followed by a buffet lunch") in a villa in a Berlin suburb. Screenwriter Loring Mandel also earned an Emmy for his script, which was based on actual minutes of the meeting (the film runs in near real time). Stanley Tucci was honored with a Golden Globe for his performance as Adolf Eichmann, Heydrich's coolly efficient right-hand man. In this "beautiful house from a more elegant time," the attendees dispassionately and matter-of-factly discuss "new concepts" in the "coordination of the Jewish question." A devastating film that is also one of the year's best, small or big screen, this is highly recommended. [Note: DVD extras include commentary by director Frank Pierson and two featurettes.] (K. Lee Benson)