The German Doctor

The German Doctor (Spanish: Wakolda) is a 2013 Argentine historical drama film directed, produced, and written by Lucía Puenzo, based on her own novel Wakolda (2011).[1] The film stars Àlex Brendemühl as Nazi SS officer and physician Josef Mengele,[2] infamous for performing human experiments in the Auschwitz concentration camp. It also stars Florencia Bado, Natalia Oreiro, Diego Peretti, Elena Roger, and Guillermo Pfening.[3]

The German Doctor
Theatrical release poster
Wakolda
Directed byLucía Puenzo
Produced byLucía Puenzo
Written byLucía Puenzo
Based onWakolda
by Lucía Puenzo
StarringÀlex Brendemühl
Natalia Oreiro
Diego Peretti
Music byDaniel Tarrab
Andrés Goldstein
CinematographyNicolás Puenzo
Edited byHugo Primero
Distributed byDistribution Company
Release date
  • 22 May 2013 (2013-05-22) (Cannes)
  • 19 September 2013 (2013-09-19) (Argentina)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryArgentina
France
Spain
Norway
LanguageSpanish
German

Plot

Josef Mengele is in exile in Argentina in 1960, living under a new identity. He makes a long journey by road to a new location by following a family, as the roads are dangerous. Mengele has his own place to stay in Patagonia, but he takes an interest in Lilith, who is the daughter of the family, and he moves into their hotel by paying six months' rent.

Lilith was born prematurely and, as a result, she is much shorter than her classmates. She is bullied at school because of her size. Mengele is working as a doctor and suggests that he can help her grow more quickly, and Lilith's mother Eva agrees to this. Meanwhile, people who have been searching for Mengele believe that they have found him and begin to gather evidence on his true identity.

Eva is pregnant with twins, to Mengele's fascination. He compiles copious notes on them, Lilith, and the rest of her family as he continues to aid in her growth. Lilith becomes sick as a side effect of the growth hormones that Mengele has given her. Her father Enzo is furious and demands that Mengele leave the hotel. Eva goes into labour, and Mengele is the only doctor nearby and is allowed to help with the care of the newborn twins. They are born prematurely, and Mengele starts to experiment on them. He is conscious of the fact that people are trying to find his true identity, and when he's almost caught, he escapes the remote location on a seaplane.

Cast

Release

It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.[4] The film was selected as the Argentine entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards,[5][6][7] but it was not nominated.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a "Certified Fresh" approval rating of 75% based on reviews from 63 critics, with an average score of 6.5/10. The site's consensus reads, "The German Doctor applies a refreshing level of restraint to its intriguing premise, and boasts solid performances from a talented cast."[8] On Metacritic it has a score of 62% based on reviews from 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[9]

Accolades
Group Award Result
66th Cannes Film Festival Un Certain Regard Nominated
Saint Petersburg International Film Festival Audience Prize Won
San Sebastián International Film Festival Horizontes Nominated
Films from the South Festival Best Feature Nominated
35th International Festival of New Latin American Cinema[10] Best Director Won
Special Jury Award Won

See also

References
  1. Debruge, Peter. "Cannes Film Review: 'Wakolda'". Variety. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  2. ""Wakolda", the film about Mengele in Argentina, chosen as Oscar precandidate". Yahoo! News Spain (in Spanish). 27 September 2013. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  3. "Cast". Wakolda official website. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  4. "2013 Official Selection". Cannes. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  5. "Oscars: Argentina Nominates 'Wakolda' for Foreign Language Oscar". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  6. "Argentina Chooses 'German Doctor' (aka 'Wakolda') for Oscar Race". Variety. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  7. "Argentina Calls On 'The German Doctor' As Foreign Language Oscar Entry". Deadline. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  8. "The German Doctor (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  9. "The German Doctor". Metacritic. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  10. "Premios Corales-35 Festival" (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 September 2013.
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