The movie's protagonist, interestingly enough, is SS officer Kurt Gerstein, played by the subdued Ulrich Tukur. Gerstein is a chemist by trade, and is promoted because of his ability to create extremely effective "anti-vermin" pesticides, such as forms of Zycklon-B. Gerstein is stunned to discover, as he stares into a gas chamber, that his formula's are being used for far more than animal extermination. The realization changes his life, and Gerstein, a devout Catholic, gives the information and more to a well-connected Italian priest, Father Riccardo. Riccardo's family is close to the Pope, and the two unlikely allies feel they can effectively move the church against the Nazi regime. They have a precedent, considering that a Catholic uproar ended the SS sponsored extermination of the mentally handicapped. However, the two soon find that the church is hesitant to challenge Germany, for numerous reasons, including their hatred for Stalin's Russia, their anti-Semitic attitudes, and their fear of decreased power in Nazi dominated Europe. It's a wait and see attitude that is getting millions killed. Both men are locked in their moral duty, even as those they trusted fail them, time and time again.

Amen is a stylish film that uses the rich history of Europe to lend a foreboding atmosphere to the entire situation. The Vatican shots are amazing, as are the Berlin and, horrifyingly, the camp scenes. The acting is good all around especially Tukur's portrayal of the tortured SS officer, unsure of where to turn. While it may make some leaps of faith that are factually baseless, it does shed an interesting light on those times. It's ending is a haunting one, as was history's verdict. A good film.

As far as the bonus materials found on the DVD, there isn't much there...but the "Making Of" documentary has several interesting moments.

At the beginning of the film, people of the Christian faith seem to be doing the right thing. People with mental and physical disabilities are being sent to the death camps, and churches, particularly the Roman Catholic Church boldly speak against the atrocity. Yet when the same thing happens to the Jews, the vigilant churches remain indifferent at best, and in more cases than not, silent. The more the churches realize the atrocities, the more deafening the silence becomes.

Amen breaks new ground as far as the discussion is concerned. Much has been made about the silence of the Vatican in general, and more specifically Pope Pius XII's failure to speak. The film could have used the easy answer, namely fear that the Vatican would be destroyed, and would therefore destroy the Church as well. While this is mentioned in the film, it really does not seem to be the major reason for the silence. The choice for the Church was either to side with the Allies, which included Russia, a Communist nation. The Communists were viewed as more evil since Communists opposed religion. The Axis powers were just as evil as Stalin, but at least they allowed the practice of the faith as long as the Church was not critical of the Nazi Regime. This seems to be the more accurate reason for the silence.

Many people who will see this film will see the Catholic Church in a less than positive light. I'm not certain this is accurate. The character of Fr. Riccardo Fontana is one of the two heroes of the film; he is Catholic, and actually stands for what is best in the Church. Keep in mind, the greatest Christians, Catholic and non-Catholic, are more often than not the heroes who stand alone, and the heroism of one who stands alone is probably a more powerful example of faith than any religious officials. We see in the character of Fontana one who makes a morally good choice and acts on it as opposed to the hierarchy, who made a bad moral choice of choosing what they believed was the lesser of two evils. Fontana is actually a Christ figure and his actions teach us how we should be acting. Also, people viewing the film should keep in mind that while the Catholic Church is the Church that is viewed as wrong, none off the other Christian denominations did all that much to stand up to the evil either. If Dante is correct about the hottest spot in hell being reserved for those who remain neutral, and silence is considered neutrality, many are in deep trouble.