My Father (2003) User Reviews

To Be Laid Upon the Children

[reelreviewsandrecommendations · 7/10 · 4 November 2023]

In 1985, the grave of notorious Nazi doctor Josef Mengele was exhumed, and his bones were taken for DNA testing, to definitively prove that the sadist had met his end. His son, Hermann, was present at the exhumation, and was approached by Paul Minsky, a lawyer representing survivors of Mengele's barbaric experiments. Minsky wanted Hermann to explain the meeting he had with his father in 1977, to ascertain what Mengele was like during his last days, and why Hermann did not turn the war criminal in. As Hermann tells the story, a devastating portrait of evil emerges as unnerving as it is unforgettable.

Directed by Egidio Eronico, and based on the novel 'Vati' by Peter Schneider (which was, in turn, inspired by Rolf Mengele's real-life meeting with his father in 1977) 'Rua Alguem 5555: My Father' is a compelling drama examining the conflict between familial loyalty and moral integrity. Merging fact and fiction, the film paints a well-wrought picture of the elder Mengele as an unrepentant National Socialist, who claims- like Admiral Dönitz in the powerful documentary 'The Memory of Justice'- he was only doing his duty, and therefore not personally responsible for any crimes against humanity.

The character of the elder Mengele is contrasted with his son, Hermann, whose ethical considerations are juxtaposed with the inhumanity of his father. Hermann's inner turmoil is well realized throughout Eronico and Antonella Grassi's screenplay, while their characterisation is consistent and believable. Their examination of themes- such as the responsibility of the son for the sins of the father, the role of justice and forgiveness in healing the wounds of the past, as well as the dangers of fanaticism and ideology in shaping human behaviour- is mature and dealt with tactfully. Although the non-linear narrative structure seems unnecessarily theatrical from time to time, and the ending is all too abrupt; the journey there is a memorable one nevertheless.

Conversely, János Kende's cinematography is underwhelming. Although the inclusion of real photographs detailing the horrors of Mengele's work bolsters the overall message and narrative power, it is the only aspect of the film with any visual flair, weight or creativity. Kende mostly relies on static shots, dull colours and conventional angles, making proceedings look bland and uninspired. Unlike Henri Decaë did with 'The Boys from Brazil', Kende fails to capture the beauty and horror of the South American landscape, while also missing the opportunity to utilise symbolic and expressive imagery- such as shadows, reflections or contrasts- to convey the psychological and moral dimensions of the story. The cinematography doesn't match the intensity and complexity of the film's themes and characters; thus diminishing its overall effect.

On the other hand, Riccardo Giagni's score is atmospheric, creating a sense of dread and suspense throughout 'Rua Alguem 5555: My Father.' His melodies also reflect the emotional states of the characters, such as Hermann's confusion and guilt, Mengele's arrogance or Minsky's determination. Incorporating some elements of Brazilian music- such as samba and bossa nova- Giagni creates a contrast between the exotic location and the sinister plot; that Kende's cinematography largely fails to do.

'Rua Alguem 5555: My Father' stars Thomas Kretschmann as Hermann, opposite Charlton Heston as Mengele and F. Murray Abraham as Minsky. Kretschmann delivers a nuanced performance, subtly showing Hermann's conflicting feelings about his father and his vile deeds, while Heston is as commanding a presence as he ever was as the not-so-good doctor. He takes the role seriously, never drifting into the realm of parody like Gregory Peck threatened at times to do in 'The Boys from Brazil;' doing masterful work. Abraham brings power and pathos to his role as the dogged lawyer Minsky, while Denise Weinberg is consistently excellent as a fanatic of Mengele's named Magdalena; who is just as sinister as he.

In conclusion, Egidio Eronico's 'Rua Alguem 5555: My Father' is a powerful drama tackling several themes in an intelligent, nuanced way. Offering a unique insight into the mind and character of one of the Third Reich's most notorious figures, the film boasts a fine screenplay, a stirring score and strong performances- especially those of Thomas Kretschmann and Charlton Heston. Although there are some structural issues, the cinematography isn't much to write home about and the ending is far too abrupt; 'Rua Alguem 5555: My Father' makes for a most compelling viewing experience.

My Father, Rua Alguem 5555 (2003) ***

[JoeKarlosi · 7/10 · 19 March 2013]

The last starring film of Charlton Heston, and a respectable swan song for one of the finest American actors of the 20th Century. This is a story based on the real life Nazi villain Dr. Josef Mengele, who was the despised Auschwitz surgeon who performed atrocities on children. Heston plays the elderly criminal (who is never referred to by name in the film), who is reviled, and has spent the last thirty years moving from country to country and living as a fugitive from justice. Mengele's orphaned son Hermann (Thomas Kretschmann) has never seen his infamous father but has endured a terrible life of persecution for being the offspring of this hated murderer. When the alleged bones of the six-year's-deceased elder Mengele are dug up in 1985, Hermann grants an interview to a Jewish lawyer (F. Murray Abraham) telling all he knows about his dad. Through his memories we are taken back eight years to the one time Hermann risked a dangerous journey to a dirty shanty town hut in Brazil, to confront his notorious father, seek some mental resolution within himself, and to possibly turn him over to the police.

This is a good little film that was made in late 2001 and - as of the date of this review - has not been released in the U.S. It is especially of note as being Charlton Heston's last movie, just before he announced publicly that he was experiencing symptoms of Alzheimers. While Heston may seem wrong for the part to some upon first thought, he actually turns in a fine last performance and is completely convincing as the complex German doctor. Thomas Kretcshmann is acceptable as his disturbed son, and F. Murray Abraham is his reliable self as the lawyer defending the survivors of Mengele's crimes. It's not an exceptional film, and I had to watch it twice in order to be sure of the back and forth time switching, but I came out satisfied. It's certainly recommended, particularly for fans of Chuck Heston. *** out of ****

My only crime is that I'm his son

[kapelusznik18 · 7/10 · 4 April 2015]

****SPOILERS*** In what turned out to be his last film role Charlton Heston turns in one of his-who at the time was suffering from Alzheimer disease- most shattering performances of his entire 50 plus year film career as the notorious "Angle of Death" of the Aushwitz-Birenau Nazi concentration camp Dr. Joseph Mengele. At the beginning of the film we see Mengele's estranged son 40 year old Hermann, Thomas Kretschmann, at his burial site in Brazil as his remains are dug up to confirmed of in fact they are those of Dr. Mengela. Attacked and spat upon by a number of holocaust survivors who hold Hermann responsible for his father's crimes he make no attempt to show his disgust not against his tormentors but his father whom he he hasn't seen, until 1979, since the end out the Second World War.

At Hermann's hotel room with an angry mob, throwing rocks & insults at him, gathering outside he grants an interview from New York Jewish Lawyer for holocaust survivors Paul Minsky, F. Murray Aberham, who feels that his father not only escaped justice by drowning while taking a dip in the Atlantic Ocean on February 7, 1979 but may have faked his death and at 84 may be still alive and hiding from the long arm of the law. The movie goes into a number of flashbacks were we see a very disturbed and confused Hermann trying to track down his elusive,from the law, father and find out from him if the accusations against him as a major war criminal are true or not.

It's in South America, the home away from home for Nazi war criminals on the lamb, that Hermann finally finds his dad living under an assumed name in a shack in the steaming Brazilian jungle. At first attempting to turn his father into the local police with the help of also the son of a Nazi war criminal, who did turn his father into the police, Robert Dietrich-played by Thomas Heinze-Hermann gets cold feet in not wanting to be responsible for his dad ending up getting life or being executed as a Nazi war criminal. What Hermann and especially Robert, who was later arrested on trumped up charges as a terrorist, find out is that their's a major Nazi network working in Brazil as well as Argentina and Paraguay that"s protecting fleeing Nazis and going as far as murdering those who are out to apprehend them.

It's Hermann's father Joseph Mengele's own words in him trying to rid the world of inferior people in order to improve the breed of the human race that really turned Hermann off against him. Still Hermann just couldn't, when he had the chance, attempt to blow his father's brains out while he was asleep or turn him into the police that in not doing so left him a broken man. It's later during his interview with Minsky that it's reported, to Minsky's great disappointment, that the remains exhumed were indeed those of Joseph Mengele that Hermann finally feels that his long nightmare of being the "Angle of Death" son is finally over. As well as knowing that in some way that even by doing himself in, in what many people feel Mengele did, by drowning himself he got exactly everything that was coming to him: If not in the real world but in the world hereafter!

A lost gem

[looby2111 · 9/10 · 30 May 2006]

I was almost put off watching this movie since I could find only a few very negative reviews. It has never been on general release only enjoying limited screenings at Film Festivals. After viewing it I have to ask, "why has this film disappeared?" and "were the critics watching the same movie as me?"

This is the story of a young man called Hermann (Thomas Kretschmann) who meets his father (Charlton Heston) essentially for the first time in a Brazilian shanty town in 1977. The significance here is that the father is Josef Mengele (although the name is never actually mentioned in the movie) the infamous doctor from the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz, now in hiding in South America. Hermann needs answers from his father as to why he was involved in such heinous crimes. The father is adamant. Recounting in Darwinist style to his son that he was merely carrying out the process of "natural selection". To say that this is a story of the conflict between generations is an understatement it is more a conflict between ideologies. Herein lies Hermann's problem. Does he inform the police that one of the biggest mass murderers of the 20th century is alive and well nearby or remain silent since he would be betraying his father? A man who is more a stranger to him than a father yet nevertheless his father. The movie is told in flash back as Hermann (now in 1985) recounts the story of this meeting to a lawyer (F. Murray Abraham) who represents some of the Auschwitz survivors from New York's Jewish community. Mengele has been reported dead under questionable circumstances and remains have been found. However, is he really dead or is it merely a smoke screen to avoid capture? Amidst a media frenzy Abraham must establish confirmation of death before compensation can be paid to the survivors.

I thought that Charlton Heston was amazing as the father in spite of his failing health. (It's so good to be able to watch Mr. Heston again on the big screen). The subtleties of his acting were a joy to behold. The filming schedule must have been extremely difficult and arduous for him due to his illness yet he gives a totally believable performance. (I had read in a review that this was the biggest miscasting since Gregory Peck played Mengele in the Boys from Brazil. Not so.) F. Murray Abraham is excellent as the lawyer, his acting was both subtle and very naturalistic. He cannot understand why Hermann did not give his father up to the authorities and berates him as a result of this. Only towards the end did he show any form of compassion and sympathy for Hermann's impossible position. And Kretschmann is simply Kretschmann. He gives a remarkable performance capturing the torment and inner conflict of the son with consummate skill ranging from quiet and understated to emotional melt down. Given the right material he is amassing quite a reputation for himself in the movie world. Although even in sub-standard films he seems to rise above the mediocrity around him.

If you are looking for an action packed adventure story this is not the movie for you. However, if you enjoy character development and exploring the interrelationship and conflict between the actors told against the backdrop of a true story then this film is highly recommended.

In conclusion, one cannot help but feel sympathy for Hermann whose only crime (as he himself states in the movie) is that he is his father's son and his punishment is that he can never break away from that fact. It is he who is left to answer for his father's crimes. A lost gem- go see it if you get the chance.

Wonderfully Made and Worth Viewing

[nickfurlano · 10/10 · 10 October 2006]

It took 11 years for the director, Egidio Eronico to make this picture. The Aero Theatre in Santa Monica had provided the show with a discussion by the director following the film. Charlton Heston contacted the director (Maximillian Schell was originally sought) for what he said would complete his career as an actor. The film also stars Thomas Kretschmann as the 33 year old son (Hermann) who finally comes to see his father (Heston) who is a former Nazi Doctor who worked in Auschwitz II camp during WWII. Josef Mengele is being sought after for his criminal involvement of over 500,000 deaths and Paul Minsky, (played by F. Murray Abraham) is a lawyer seeking justice to bring Mengele (the father)to trial. This story is based on facts.

Although the father Josef Mengele is not factually represented in appearance his character behavior and appeal is understood superbly through Mr. Heston. (Anthony Hopkins turned down the role of Mengele.) Kretschmann truly comes through as an absorbed soul who is lost in the sins of his father; he totally wants to sever all family ties. Minsky is strongly effective in motivating the son to unfold the truth as much as possible.

The film was made in Brazil, Hungary, and Italy. The shots of the scenery are spectacular and the story is tight. An Italian filmmaker who went out of his way to risk a story like this with his own resources and sponsors is an incredible feat of 11 years of love and labor. Mr. Eronico truly believes his movie has a message for everyone. All the performances are brilliant! This film addresses the prejudices people keep quiet.

Being the struggle of a young man to free himself from a father he did not know...

[max_koenig · 9/10 · 12 February 2004]

Our decisions are based not only on rational conclusions, but to a certain (and relatively large) amount on our emotions that might even contradict any rationality. This however is due to the fact that we are human beings and we learned to deal with this, as we have to balance this equation every day to come to decisions. Most of the time we're not even aware of this any more, but the more rationality and emotional state drift apart, the stronger becomes our struggle. If this struggle is forced to its extremes, man at a point becomes aware that he is stuck, stuck with a burden he is not able to carry, nor able to rid himself of it. At some point there he loses the ability to live and goes to rack and ruin.

And here, at its extremes, the movie fades in. Based on the story `Vati' by Peter Schneider, "Papà" tells the story of Hermann (Kretschmann), a young man who never got the chance to consciously meet his father, picked on and beaten up in school for reasons he could not imagine, tolerated by his teachers, but treated like a ghost. Growing up he will discover that it was not him who created all this hatred, but his name. Hermann, now a full-grown man, takes the chance to travel to South America to meet his father for the first time - a man who as a doctor and genetic scientist is responsible for the death of thousands of prisoners in the concentration camp of Auschwitz, responsible for ghastly human experiments he performed on children and new-borns, a man who decided between imprisonment and "Vergasung". "Der Todesengel" of Auschwitz Dr. Josef Mengele (Charlton Heston) has - with the help of his family and friends - managed to escape trial by fleeing to Latin America. Hermann wants to confront his father with his past, somehow yearns for answers that do not exist, or if they did, are those of another generation which are not understandable. But his slight hope to convince his father to face his past and give himself up to the police quickly vanishes as not only Hermann, but also his father has been waiting for this meeting for ages, convinced to get his own flesh and blood on his side, to rid Hermann of the "lies of his enemies". What follows is a cold war between father and son. Hermann finds himself torn apart by his struggle of doing the only rational thing - denouncing his own father - or surrender to his uncertain emotions and cover him. Can there be a bond between father and son so strong that a mass-murder-identity can be accepted by the ladder, even though they hardly know each other? Has Hermann any right to cover his father or would he cover himself with guilt as well?

This movie is not only about the struggle of a young man he won't be able to win, nor is it only the biography of the KZ Arzt Dr. Mengele. "My father" covers even more. It depicts the human desire of justice, a somehow strange and unfortunate desire as in this case it cannot be satisfied. It hints the victims' states of mind that will never ever get "justice". Could the capture of this man make up for the enormous pain the victims had to suffer? Definitely not, but it would have helped to ease another pain - the total helplessness derived from the idea of the most wanted mass-murder alive at that time to escape trial and live in peace till the end of his days. A man that "does not deserve to rest". It is this helplessness in the end that makes it so hard for the victims left behind without the chance of justice to accept their torturer's death. Mengele dies in 1979 near Sao Paulo under mysterious circumstances leaving enough room for speculation he might perhaps once and for all have escaped persecution by faked death. However six years after this incident the israelian secret service will find his grave; examination of the skeleton and teeth will confirm Mengele's identity.

Heston's performance as Dr. Josef Mengele is completely stunning, a role he played so convincing and strong (his pro-rifle propaganda rallies across the country for the NRA might have been the ideal training) that his charisma and pure darwinistic lectures given to his son overlay his mass-murder-identity. And at some point you might catch yourself, deeply shocked, thinking of this murderer as a poor old man who might as well be just a victim of a horrible system. Sure, this choice of cast felt strange at the beginning, but after seeing the result, I could not think of any better choice. And as Peter Schneider said: "Be honest, would you rather have liked to see a Dustin Hoffman or Richard Gere in this role?" Nothing more to add to this. Kretschmann plays the role of Hermann with great routine which is ironically exactly what he lacks when it comes to discussing the movie or giving us an idea of how he felt playing this character. No bad intention, but on the screen he seems to feel much more comfortable than in front of an audience, but who am I to blame him.

The struggle that the hero of this movie Hermann has to go through on the screen, definitely a fight he cannot win (whatever his decision may be at the end), is projected onto the audience ( thank god we don't have to cope with that for a lifetime ). And if it was for this effect alone, "my father" would be a success. 8.5/10 => 9/10

Heston's great final performance

[James_Byrne · 8/10 · 2 June 2018]

The film begins with the son, Hermann, visiting the scene of his father's atrocities at Auschwitz in May 1976. Following a map of the death camp he makes his way to Block 16a and stares in horror at the fading, decaying paintings of children on the walls. Heston's narration warns him of "the gravity of the situation" and tells him to "travel on a false passport" when he visits him in Brazil. The movie fast-forwards to 6 June 1985, an exhumation of a corpse believed to be Mengele is taking place at Embu, 17 miles from Soa Paulo, Brazil. A lawyer, Paul Minsky (F. Murray Abraham) is anxious to talk to Hermann, whom he knows to be the son of Mengele. The lawyer represents New York's Jewish community, and also a pair of twins who were mutilated by Mengele, and watches as Hermann is attacked by an elderly Jewish lady with an Auschwitz number tattoo on her wrist. Hermann reluctantly relates to Minsky his 1977 meeting when he visited his father in Brazil, and Minsky wants to know all the facts - not believing that the dug-up corpse is actually Mengele. The lawyer and his clients seek justice.

The movie is now back in 1977, and Hermann is met at the airport at Rio de Janeiro by his father's secret security guards, who warn him not to leave his hotel or go anywhere without their say-so. A ferocious angry mob gathers outside the hotel, chanting threats with "The murderer is still alive" placards, and a stone is hurled through his hotel window bearing the message "Bring the Nazi murderer to trial".

Hermann keeps having nightmares about his miserable childhood, being constantly bullied at school, and his teacher alienating him from his fellow pupils by refusing to read out his name, Mengele, during the morning roll-call. "They tolerated me but it was if I wasn't there" laments Hermann.

The reunion with his long-lost father is bitter, ice-cold and stressful. They stare at each other for ages before Mengele hugs his son, who doesn't respond in any positive way - "This wasn't the man I knew from my photographs". They drink German beer together in Mengele's sparse, but clean, shanty-town shack, but both are wary of each other. Hermann has difficulty associating the broken old man in front of him with the monster he has read so much about. The son hands over presents sent by some of his old German friends; books and a video of an old German movie, and then throws down on the table some old newspaper cuttings detailing Auschwitz atrocities. Old Mengele eyes the headlines with total contempt and scowls, "There's the real truth!", pointing to his journals.

Hermann thinks about all the strange things that happened in his childhood, how puzzled he was by his mother burning his "Uncle's" letters from Argentina as soon as she read them, and how he was scolded by her for exchanging his Argentinian stamps with his boyhood friend. On his 15th birthday he is told by a friend of the family her version of the "truth", and that his "Uncle" is really his father, whom he had always thought was dead. Totally shocked at this revelation he burns a photo of them both.

16 March 1977, neighbours and friends throw a surprise 66th birthday party for Mengele. A cake with candles is wheeled in and a little Brazilian girl sits on Mengele's knee ready to help him blow out the candles. "The children love him" says the adoring mother, but Hermann is revolted by seeing his father with that innocent child, and the nightmare of what he did to the children of Auschwitz flashes into his mind. He can't stand it any longer and goes outside the shack where he suddenly notices the high proportion of twins in the area. Is his father still doing his operations here in Brazil?

Hermann invites his friend Robert from Germany to stay at his hotel in Brazil - a friend who once turned his own Nazi father in to the authorities to stand trial. They get drunk together at a nightclub and enjoy the company of some willing young Brazilian beauties, but the fun soon ends when Robert demands that Hermann turns in his fugitive father. Unwilling to do so, Hermann and his friend quarrel fiercely. Unable to cope with his anxieties he points a gun at his sleeping father - but cannot pull the trigger - and shakily aims the gun at himself. Just then Mengele wakes up and looks disgusted at his trembling, weak son, and rolls over back to sleep. The next day Hermann is driven further into despair at the sight of his father laughing with some Brazilian children as they watch the Charlie Chaplin classic THE IMMIGRANT on his television. There is a violent confrontation between them when Mengele then plays the video that he has brought over from Germany, called DIE GOLDENE STADT. He ejects the tape and slams into the recorder a video of the starving children of Auschwitz. Later, a photo of a very pretty, obviously Aryan, young lady falls out of Hermann's passport. Mengele enquires who she is. Delighted that she is Hermann's fiancee, with blonde hair and blue eyes, Mengele says "We can expect fine off-spring from this marriage", which sends Hermann into a frenzied attempt to strangle his father. He tries to turn his father in at the police station but backs down, which makes him feverish and he unwittingly gives Robert his father's secret address. Robert returns to their hotel with photos of Mengele, and Hermann accuses him of being a gold-digger just out for the huge reward, so Robert rips them to pieces and demands that Hermann turns his father in - or he will do it himself.

Mengele suggests that they go on a trip to see the lush, beautiful rainforests of the Amazon. "Today we will show this Black Forest native a real forest!" They sit in stony silence on the boat trip, and when the coach gets stuck in the mud, they walk through the awe-inspiring scenic jungle surrounded by exotic vegatation and giant trees. Now, comes the final head-to-head confrontation between the pair. It's Heston's final big scene of his career and he goes out guns blazing. Heston puts on some music, and then relates his ideology to his son.

"Not all music is appropriate for such scenery ... but this is. Look around you. Here none of the trees grows at the correct distance from the next. Each plant has to share space with a dozen others fighting to reach the light. What you see here is a battle willed on which for millions of years now a silent war has been raged. Until now you have only seen the toy forests. We have made a mistake. That is true. You hoped I would declare my innocence and I hoped to explain myself to my son without having to justify anything. But all along you've been asking the wrong questions and I'll now answer what you never dared to ask. Even though the camp's ultimate aim was achieved in a primitive and unscientific fashion, science cannot ignore it's findings. Since man realised that he is not made in the image of God but descends from apes he has had to accept he is neither equal nor free, nor brotherly. But just like animals and plants, he is subject to the laws of evolution. These favour the strong and eliminate the weak. His false ideals such as loving thy neighbour and the sanctity of human life that has hampered the rigid law of selection. Our duty is to make the necessary choices which ensure the survival of stronger races. It is unavoidable that the Aid Programmes fighting hunger in the world favour the secondary breeds, but by saving these races from natural extinction the white race is carrying out an act of self-denial in the name of misguided cultural notions. Modern natural science has led man to a crossroads, now he must either divide a system of values that correspond with the laws of genetics or these laws will crush him."

Hermann now has proof that his father is still an unapologetic evil Nazi monster, and picks up a huge log to strike him with.

"So ... what are you waiting for? every boy dreams of killing his father at some point in his life",