There are countless films about the Nazi era, and more are being added every year. Even though the topic is of course extremely important and will remain important, it is not wrong to speak of a certain oversaturation with regard to the film sector – because films like “The Zone Of Interest” that actually manage to find a new approach are rare.
“Truth & Treason – Truth & Treason” is not in its league, but it also stands out because it highlights an unusual character who, surprisingly, has not yet received any film treatment. The story is told by Helmuth Hübener, the youngest resistance fighter against National Socialism at the age of 17, who was sentenced to death by the People's Court. Director and co-screenwriter Matt Whitaker, who had already published a documentary about Hübener in 2002, takes on his life in the form of a conventional, straightforward biopic, which, however, makes his protagonist less tangible than stylizing him into a saint. But it's still entertaining thanks to good actors and competent implementation.
Helmuth Hübener (Ewan Horrocks, center) and his colleagues prepare their anti-fascist leaflets.
Hübener (Ewan Horrocks), who comes from an apolitical working-class family and is Mormon, begins listening to the English radio station BBC in the summer and uses the British news to formulate and reproduce anti-fascist texts, which he distributes to his fellow human beings as leaflets written on red note cards. In distributing the leaflets he gets support from Karl-Heinz (Ferdinand McKay) and Ferdinand (Daf Thomas), two friends from the community.
Of course, this is an extremely dangerous undertaking, and so it doesn't take long before the Gestapo becomes aware of the writings. Soon Gestapo man Erwin Muessener (Rupert Evans) is on Hübner's heels – with success: the 17-year-old is betrayed and imprisoned by his superior Heinrich Mohns (Christos Lawton), a prominent NSDAP member. Muessener, who brutally interrogates the young resister, initially cannot believe that the 17-year-old wrote the texts himself – he was expecting a university professor. Although Hübener convinces him of the opposite, he does not manage to make it credible that he distributed the leaflets entirely himself.
Good versus evil
Although he reveals the names of his friends under torture, he does not go along with his lawyer's plan to wriggle out of the affair and shift the blame onto Karl-Heinz. He not only takes full responsibility at the trial before the People's Court, but also makes a flaming accusation against National Socialism. His friends received prison sentences and he was executed at the end of October 1942.
The worldwide distribution rights to “Truth & Treason” are held by the American Angel Studios. This is a media company founded by Mormons in 2021 that specializes in Christian films and television series, but also has propaganda-free, really worth seeing titles such as “Sketch,” which recently opened in German cinemas, in its program. It's not really surprising that “Truth & Betrayal” ended up with this company, after all, the protagonist is a Mormon. However, what was probably more crucial was the fact that a child, a symbol of innocence, stood up against evil and even caused one of the representatives of the opposing side to doubt his own actions.
The People's Court sentenced the resister to death for treason.
Accordingly, the film focuses entirely on the act of resistance. Nothing is known about Hübener's early childhood or his time with the Hitler Youth. His family environment doesn't play a major role, and so – even when reprisals against his Jewish friend Salomon are discussed – it is never really clear how he became the steadfast and fearless person that he ultimately was.
In general, “Truth & Treason” takes a pretty easy route for a film about a resister. The action begins directly in 1941, the year in which Hübener begins his activities. After 15 minutes he is listening to the BBC, after half an hour he is typing leaflets, and for almost the entire second hour we see the activist during his imprisonment or during his interrogation with Mussener and in the courtroom. Hübener becomes the male Joan of Arc of the Nazi resistance. This is further reinforced by the fact that in a few scenes the light shines from behind, making the boy look a bit like a church icon.
Conventional, but entertaining
You still don't really get any closer to Hübener in two hours. But the largely unknown, well-performing cast, the straightforward narrative pace and the competent direction, which relies entirely on classic suspense dramaturgy and conceals the low budget of 7.6 million dollars for a historical film with clever camera angles, make the running time pass quickly.
Conclusion: Overall, a disappointingly ordinary biopic about an unusual character, which was still very entertaining thanks to Matt Whitaker's experienced direction and a committed cast.
By the way: Angel Studios has released “Truth & Treason” on its in-house streaming platform in the form of a four-part mini-series. It is quite possible that the additional running time will shift the impression further upwards.