The German Doctor

The true story of Dr Mengele, AKA The Angel Of Death, who, back in 1960, moves in with an Argentinian family, under a pseudonym. It quickly becomes apparent that he is not as clean as he makes out and starts doing experiments on the young daughter Lileth, very well played by Florencia Bado.

Àlex Brendemühl is superb as Mengele, really chilling and frightening and gives an insight into what a seriously deranged person Mengele really was. His desire for an Aryan race continuing long after the war, when he 'invests' some money into a doll factory, which makes doll's that all have to be identical.

There are also some great performances from Natalia Oreiro and Diego Peretti as the parents of Lileth. A fascinating movie, well worth a look.

Seen at 2013 Cannes Film Festival, section "Un Certain Regard"

Movie "Wakolda" challenges possible escape of Nazi physician Josef Mengele (Alex Brendemühl) to Bariloche, Argentina, in 1960, after being successfully in hiding for over a decade in Buenos Aires. On the road he meets an Argentinian family and becomes fascinated with their daughter Lilith (Florencia Bado) who was born premature and thus has smaller body for her age. Upon their arrival to Bariloche, Mengele, going by name Helmut Gregor, becomes a guest of family's lodging house. With permission of mother Eva (Natalia Oreiro) and behind father's Enzo (Diego Peretti) back, Mengele starts to treat Lilith with growth hormones, which reopens his fascination with pure Aryan race...

The movie has exceptional score, cinematography and direction, almost fully shot in Bariloche's exteriors. The story develops into psychological thriller and suspense especially in moments where the family has no idea who the stranger in their house truly is, but spectators are fully aware of his true nature. Director Puenzo managed to incorporate into her movie elements of Nazi fascination by local community, mystery of genetic research and innocence of young Lilith who feels privileged to get stranger's attention.

Alex Brendemühl is chilling as the "Angel of Death", while Florencia Bado gives solid performance, especially being it her first movie role. Natalia Oreiro, Diego Peretti and Elena Roger manage to capture essence of their diverse characters and have on-screen moments with stunning performances. Oreiro convincingly portrays a mother who submits her child to hormone experimentation believing it to be the only option to help Lilith as she blames herself for having her prematurely.

The movie is multilayer and touches topics of Argentinian history that is not known to many. "Wakolda" is certainly an extraordinary movie experience.

A stranger, with a foreign accent, asks if he can follow a family on the road towards the South. The father agrees, though everyone look at him warily. Everyone but Lilith, the 12 year-old girl who looks 8, fascinated by this man fixing his gaze on her.

Lucia Puenzo is known for exploring difficult and unusual relationships, and this particular feature makes her movies quite appealing. Add to that, beautiful landscapes, solid directing and you've got one of the best thrillers of 2013.

Also interesting to see, the way South America coped with ex-NSDAP members and how they continued to live and work amidst general indifference.

Some things seem like never ending, and as such this movie truly acts like a spell.

Just saw one of the most compelling movies I have seen in quite a long time. "The German Doctor". It has the beautiful scenery of Bariloche Argentina shot throughout and some of the best acting I have seen in years along with a compelling musical score. It's basic plot deals with Mengele, perhaps one of the greatest villains to have survived the fall of the Nazi empire. He travels into Argentina and ingratiates himself with an Argentine family of Germany ethnicity. The role played by the doctor is both chilling and fascinating. Mengele comes across at first as a benevolent force, but soon we develop the insight not only as to who this person is, but how casually he dehumanizes everyone to meet his own terms of science and beauty. Pay special attention to the symbolism of dolls and their "sameness". The acting is exquisite, with Florencia Bado who conveys the innocence of a young girl who trusts "the German Doctor" as well as Natalia Oriero and Diego Peretti. There is no gruesome violence in this movie, no "action sequence", no CGI, no bad language, no nudity. Only the chilling suspense and dialogue of an evil passing itself as benevolence. The stark winter landscape and beautiful forests of that region are known to me and they were captured in a magnificent way. I cannot recommend this movie enough.

"The German Doctor" is an Argentinean film based on real events. Interestingly, the man who wrote the novel, Lucía Puenzo, also wrote the screenplay, produced AND directed this movie. It's also really worth your time, as Puenzo shows a very deft hand helming this interesting picture.

The story is set in Argentina in 1960*. A family has decided to move into the Patagonian countryside and open up a bed guesthouse. Their first customer is a handsome and genial German man who is very easy to like. The daughter in particular spends a lot of time with this man. This is because he is a doctor and claims he might be able to help the girl. After all, although she's 12, she appears to be about 9 years- old and the kids at school make fun of her because of this. With the mother's permission, the good doctor tests out his new formula which might help her to grow. They have no idea exactly what he's giving her, but the formula does seem to help. In addition, since the doctor is such a nice man, he offers to help the pregnant mother who soon learns from the doctor that she's going to have twins. Unfortunately, it turns out that the doctor isn't who he says he is...he's Joseph Mengele-- the notoriously evil Nazi who worked at Auschwitz. And why was he so notorious? Because he performed all sorts of ungodly experiments on people...and his subjects of choice were twins. And, according to the film, his wicked experiments continued long after the war had ended.

While I would love to tell you that the film has a happy ending**, it didn't. After all, this psychopath was one of the most important Nazi war criminals to escape prosecution. So, if you are the type that expects or needs a happy ending, then you just might want to pick another movie. Nevertheless, it is exquisitely crafted and not excessively sad nor graphic--at least in regard to what you see and hear during the course of the film. It's much more thought- provoking than anything else--and a movie that is well worth your time.

*Although I loved the film, the attention to period detail was poor. The film was set in 1960 but many of the cars are late 1960s vintage. **My daughter saw this in the theater and was shocked to hear several people complain about the film because it did not have a happy ending. I hate to think that they wanted them to change history and have the doctor captured and shot. While satisfying, this just isn't what happened to the guy!