Why is truth? Where is truth? You might think such questions are silly shifts from “What is truth?” Whatever it is, you probably can’t ferret out the truth without troubling over the why of it. You probably can’t wrap your mind and senses around what it is without digging at the context where truth lies.
There’s a German film called “Labyrinth of Lies.” The title doesn’t do it justice. The maze it travels isn’t really about lies. It’s about distance from the truth, problematic corridors to the truth. See “Labyrinth of Lies.” It does justice to beset quests for truth.
Keep an eye out for righteousness. That tip may be more like a spoiler than knowing a few things about yet another Nazi era setting. Actually, “Labyrinth of Lies” takes place around 15-20 years after the death of Hitler and the end of World War II. Still, it exhorts fresh discomfort over the most infamous example of history we must never forget.
Righteousness seeps into the chemistry of a young lawyer who is as much a post-Hitler German as any of his fellow citizens. His mentor, his secretary, and a legal colleague add depth and breadth to the vortex. Friendship and romantic relationship stir heat and heart into the crucible.
Who is truth? Is it a high profile monster like Dr. Josef Mengele, who escaped to Argentina? Is it the mid to low level soldiers of the murderous concentration camp regime, who diffused into post-holocaust normalcy?
Consider seeing “Judgment at Nuremberg” (1961). This film lent sensitive scrutiny to the war crime trials in Nuremberg, Germany (1945-49). It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won two Oscars.
Inspired by the dramatic narrative up to and including the Auschwitz trials in Frankfurt (1963-65), “Labyrinth of Lies” leads you to more than morsels of truth. It leads you to tastes of reconciliation that help people travel endless mazes of who, what, when, where, why, and how.