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‘The Disappearance of Josef Mengele’ Review: A Post-War Study of the Nazis’ ‘Angel of Death’ Lacks Dimension
Kirill Serebrennikov’s black-and-white Cannes selection 'The Disappearance of Josef Mengele,' about the Nazi “angel of death,” seldom comes to life.
However, the black-and-white-shot post-World War II biopic contains more ideas than it can handle, between a central character study — led by an impeccable August Diehl — mixed with a globe-trotting tale of evasion, along with numerous hints towards turning political wheels. However, these alluring flourishes quickly fade, as the movie settles into rote rhythms reminiscent of Serebrennikov’s most recent effort (the agitator biopic “ Limonov: The Ballad ”), in which the political is but window dressing to the personal, rather than part-and-parcel of it. Take, for example, a kind of scene that has become practically expected of modern films on human atrocities — from the 2013 Indonesian genocide documentary “The Act of Killing,” to the recent World War II dramas “Oppenheimer” and “The Zone of Interest” — in which a figure confronted with the reality of their mass murders keels over and vomits, as if in pithy attempt to expel their guilt.
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