"The Disappearance of Josef Mangele:" Cannes' Hidden Gem

It is nearly impossible to see every film at any given festival, especially one of the "big five" like Cannes. Even if you manage to see every competing film, there are bound to be dozens of projects that go unnoticed because there simply aren't enough hours in the day. One film that flew under the radar this year was the German biopic, The Disappearance of Josef Mangele by Kirill Serebrennikov. The film stars August Diehl as one of the most notorious figures of World War II. Despite receiving little attention at this year's festival, the film is easily one of the most captivating releases that Cannes has seen in recent memory. Miraculously managing to turn the most evil person to ever live into a somewhat empathetic figure.

To anyone who studies the Holocaust, Josef Mengele is a name that sends shivers down their spine. Known as the "Angel of Death" of Auschwitz, Mengele used his medical knowledge to conduct some of the cruelest human experiments in history. He was an advocate for something he deemed "racial hygiene" and used his "findings" to justify the superiority of the Aryan race compared to others. He is most infamous for his fascination with identical twins and his tendency to slaughter newborn babies. Like many other Nazis escaping persecution after Hitler's defeat, Mengele fled to Brazil, where he spent the remainder of his life until his death in 1979 from drowning. For years it was unknown what happened to Mengele after the war until his remains were found in Brazil, where they're kept to this day at the University of São Paolo Medical School. It's a story stranger than fiction, with a painfully real backstory.

Russian filmmaker, Kirill Serebrennikov attempts to tell the story of Mengele's exile in South America with German actor, August Diehl playing the titular role. Diehl is mostly known for his roles in both Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and Terrence Malick's A Hidden Life, so this film was far from his first WWII centered project. Diehl plays Mengele with such a striking intensity, completely transforming into the infamous Nazi.

There are a lot of impressive aspects of The Disappearance of Josef Mangele. Namely, the stunning cinematography by Vladislav Opelyants and the subtle yet haunting soundtrack by Ilya Demutsky. It is an impressively constructed film but the true gem is the lead performance by August Diehl which I have not been able to stop thinking about for days.

August Diehl is no stranger to playing Nazi's, it is pretty much a right of passage for working German actors to play a National Socialist at least once. It must have been quite the daunting task for Diehl to bring back to life one of the most undeniably wicked people to ever walk the Earth, but not only does he succeed, he adds a new layer of depth to Mengele.

If you need proof that evil exists, look no further than the German soldiers who worked in Auschwitz. For years, Nazi's tortured, murdered, and separated families with zero consequences. In fact, on the contrary, they were rewarded. Recreations of Mengele's human experiments are made with shocking attention to detail, in terms of gore and cruelty. Perhaps the most harrowing scene in the whole film is when the screen goes from black and white to color and the audience catches a glimpse of an old tape showing the kind of things Mengele took part in at Auschwitz. You can't help but feel an intense sensation of disgust. But through his performance, Diehl is able to somehow add a layer of sympathy to Mengele.

It's clear from the start that although Josef Mengele is the protagonist, he is far from a hero. He has practically zero positive qualities about him, some people were just put on this Earth to cause misery and Mengele was one of them.

The film is told through the eyes of Mengele's only son, Rolf, who has traveled to Brazil in disguise to see his aging father in his remote home. Due to Rolf's empathy for those different than him and his condemnation of Hitler and the Nazi's, Josef cannot stand him and routinely berates him with insults. It makes the audience wonder what they would possibly do if they were the child of someone so infamous.

In the third act, Diehl does the impossible and makes the audience empathize with Mengele when he says he never thought he'd be living in squalor halfway across the world in his old age. And while he deserved much worse, it's profound to hear the perspective of a man who for years believed that his commander would lead him to greatness, and by the end of his life he would be at the top of the world. To go from those kind of expectations to the cruel reality of his life is so devastating you can't help but put yourself in his shoes.

It's an intensely scary and uncomfortable feeling to empathize with someone as irredeemable as Josef Mengele, but August Diehl and Kirill Serebrennikov managed to accomplish that astonishing feat. At no point does Serebrennikov ever attempt to turn the protagonist into a likable character, but there is so much to learn from the scum of humanity like Mengele.

The Disappearance of Josef Mangele is a film strictly for those with the strongest of stomachs. But those fortunate enough to be blessed with an iron foundation will be treated to one of the most harrowing films that Cannes has to offer.