Labyrinth of Lies

[projekktor id=’21312′]

Labyrinth of Lies is a German drama written and directed by Italian filmmaker Giulio Ricciarelli. It premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival and has been chosen as Germany’s submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at this year’s Academy Awards. The film stars Alexander Fehling, who had a small role in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds.

Frankfurt 1958: nobody wants to look back to the time of the National Socialist regime. Young public prosecutor Johann Radmann comes across some documents that help initiate the trial against some members of the SS who served in Auschwitz. But both the horrors of the past and the hostility shown towards his work bring Johann close to a meltdown. It is nearly impossible for him to find his way through this maze; everybody seems to have been involved or guilty.

“We live in an age of self-publishing,” says Ricciarelli, “in which 13-year-olds are their own PR department, while as individuals we feel we cannot have any influence on such a globalized, networked, and complex world. In this age, this story reminds us that it is always individuals who bring about change and push forward civilization. This struggle, the pain and the beauty of this struggle – this is the core of this movie.”