The People vs. Fritz Bauer (Der Staat Gegen Fritz Bauer)

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Lars Kraume/Starring: Burghart Klaussner, Rudiger Klink, Sebastian Blomberg, Michael Schenk, Ronald Zehrfeld, Laura Tonka, Christopher Buckholz and Jorg Schuttauf

Director Lars Kraume's The People vs. Fritz Bauer (Der Staat Gegen Fritz Bauer) tells the true story of German Attorney General Fritz Bauer's efforts to bring the notorious SS officer Adolf Eichmann to trial. Though his search for the elusive Nazi had its entanglments, we find Bauer was equally complicated; as was his assistant, Karl Angermann. Kraume's depiction of Bauer and Angermann's formidable quest is both vivid and taut; leaving the audience with something more than a drab history lesson.

Burghart Klaussner (Goodbye Lenin!, The Edukators) plays Fritz Bauer, who, as the story begins in Germany late 1950s', finds himself laden with case-loads involving the pursuit of former Nazis. In his exhaustive efforts as Attorney General to find and prosecute former members of the Third Reich, Bauer meets resistance from colleagues and subordinates who harbor sympathies for Hitler's regime and would rather not see their countrymen brought to trial. The stresses of his position nearly cost him his life when his driver finds Bauer submerged in his bath; having ingested pills and alcohol imprudently. Recovering from his near-lethal mishap, Bauer reports to work but is disappointed to find his staff have few leads, which elicits a scornful upbraiding.

But Bauer finds other impediments to his investigations lurking in the German justice system. Unbeknownst to Bauer, two colleagues in his building monitor his work while his superior's seemingly casual attitude renders his leadership appallingly ineffectual. Aware anti-justice forces are marshaled against him, Bauer finds files on former Nazis missing in his office.

Bauer receives a letter from a German living in Argentina named Lothar Hermann (Christopher Buckholz), who informs him his daughter is dating Eichmann's oldest son. With reasonable information provided, Bauer initiates his plan to extradite Eichmann for a trial in Germany.

Meanwhile, we see former the Nazi and logistical architect of the Holocaust; Adolf Eichmann (Michael Schenk) in his Argentinian home, living under an alias. In another scene, Eichmann is being investigated by two men whose identities are never revealed. We hear Eichmann discuss his role in the Final Solution. What is particularly disturbing about his testimony is his unapologetic position. He expresses regret about not eliminating all 10 million Jews he regards as the enemy. Eichmann's flight from prosecution and his stomach-churning candor about not exterminating the Reich's most hated race give Bauer's search added urgency.

Realizing Eichmann's capture will be a difficult operation, Bauer enlists the help of Mossad, who unfortunately rebuff his request.

Alerted to Bauer's plans to apprehend Eichmann, a shadowy group of men who oppose any and all his efforts to bring the former SS Officer to trial plot against him. Bauer's homosexual past provides ammunition, as does his visit to Israel to consult with Mossad, which carries a charge of treason. But as Bauer's assistant; Karl Angermann, becomes more involved in Bauer's extradition plans, he too becomes a target. It doesn't help that Angermann's sexual dalliance with a German transvestite leaves him vulnerable to Bauer's enemies, who waste little time attempting blackmail.

How Bauer and Angermann handle their enemies; at home and abroad, helps ratchet up the tension. As we now know, Eichmann's capture by Israeli intelligence denied Bauer his chance to have the Nazi face prosecution in his homeland, but the subsequent outcome of the trial in Jerusalem offered Bauer some consolation.

End subtitles inform us Bauer was instrumental in bringing Eichmann to justice. It's very disappointing to see how his contribution has been minimized by history.

Bauer's many shades are brilliantly drawn by Burghart Klaussner's fine performance. Bauer hardly seemed like a avenging angel but Klaussner shows his fierce determination; his wily mind and his dauntlessness.

Hannah Arendt's banality of evil; a phrase now shopworn but inspired by Eichmann's actions during wartime, is effectively communicated here. The phrase also applies to those who collaborated to hinder criminal investigations. To see threatening, anti-Semitic notes passed under Bauer's door as government officials plot against him paints a disturbing portrait of post-war Germany.

I don't think Kraume's film is powerful or riveting but it is nevertheless engaging. As historical drama, it acquits itself well but it needed a higher gear. This will play well on cable, where its modest visual ambitions will rest nicely.

The People vs. Fritz Bauer is a story about a man who helped bring a fugitive war criminal to justice but was never given due credit for his efforts. Though we can say justice was eventually done, there's no denying the dangers and sacrifices one man made to ensure the world didn't forget one of history's vile malefactors. No matter how one assesses Kraume's film, the importance of Bauer's investigation is indisputably paramount.