When loyalty to country becomes loyalty to a lie, one teen risks everything to expose the truth. With the Gestapo closing in, he must decide what it really means to be a good German.
Chuck says:
On October 27, 1942, Helmuth Hubener was executed by officers of the Third Reich. He was found guilty of acts of sedition and treason. He had distributed leaflets with two of his friends, exposing Hitler’s criminal practices and calling for resistance. He killed no one, assaulted no one. His crimes were committed with a typewriter.
The manner of his execution was beheading. He was only 17 years old.
Matt Whitaker’s “Truth & Treason” powerfully recounts the circumstances that led to Hubener’s death, events that are tragically and infuriatingly timely. Stumbling out of the gate with a slowly paced first act, the film ultimately rights itself, the script by Ethan Vincent and Whitaker finding its focus as the circumstances that prompted Hubener’s activism are revealed.
Smarter and more mature than his peers, Hubener (an exceptional Ewan Horrocks) is part of a middle-class family, his stepfather an army officer, his mother a homemaker. The young man’s exceptional writing skills are noticed and put to good use when he’s given a position at Hamburg’s City Hall. There, he stumbles upon a room where books banned by the Reich have been stored. His curiosity peaked, he begins to peruse these volumes. At the same time, he finds a shortwave radio in his home, purchased and hidden by his stepbrother. In effort to control their own narrative, the government has banned these devices, which prompts Hubener to start listening to the BBC. News reports of Hitler’s military invasions and other heinous practices, coupled with the various new ethos’ he’s discovered in the banned books, plant a seed of rebellion in his mind.
However, it doesn’t blossom until his Jewish friend Julius (Ben Dilloway), targeted to be arrested and taken away, commits suicide to avoid that fate. Disillusioned and furious, Hubener decides to act by typing up screeds condemning Hitler and his actions, printing them on red paper, distributing them in mailboxes, under windshield wipers and in any other accessible spot. He enlists his two friends, Karl and Rudi (Ferdinand McKay and Daf Thomas) to help him, the boys’ efforts eventually coming to the attention of Inspector Mussener (Rupert Evans), who is grieving the loss of his young daughter, killed during an Allied air raid.
Unfortunately, this is a familiar tale but for the most part, in Whitaker’s hands it’s told well. The performances from all are sincere and effective, while a sense of palpable tension steadily builds in the main storyline. However, the script could have used a trimming, scenes involving Hubener and his first love (Elli Kluge) slowing the action down at key moments. More problematic is the character of Mussener. He pursues Hubener with Javer-like intensity, only to develop a begrudging respect and sympathy for his prey. Not enough time is spent developing his change-of-heart, the revelation at the end that he tried to gain clemency for Hubener landing with a thud, lacking narrative conviction.
Still, there’s no denying the power of the story, as well as its increasingly stark portrayal. Though working within the constraints of a PG-13 rating, Whitaker is still able to convey the horror of Hubener’s final days. The simple sight of seeing this young man laid and fastened into the guillotine is enough to drive home the reprehensible and amoral intent of Hitler’s Reich. It’s an image you won’t be able to shake, Hubener’s courage and sacrifice still echoing through the years, “Truth” doing them both justice.
3 Stars
