In Germany, particularly tricky historical scenarios are seen as ideal stomping grounds for budding directors. This has to do with the labyrinthine system of public film subsidies, which tend to favour movies that deal with important and worthwhile subjects. Ideally Germany's notorious semi-recent history.
The result is often something like Im Labyrinth des Schweigens, in which bloody murder is given the soap opera treatment. The story of how grizzled chief public prosecutor Fritz Bauer prosecuted some of the murderers of the Auschwitz concentration camp is replaced by a cheesy tale of a handsome, young and naive attorney stumbling on the largest crime in history.
The result is often something like Im Labyrinth des Schweigens, in which bloody murder is given the soap opera treatment. The story of how grizzled chief public prosecutor Fritz Bauer prosecuted some of the murderers of the Auschwitz concentration camp is replaced by a cheesy tale of a handsome, young and naive attorney stumbling on the largest crime in history.