Sobibor (2018)

Directed by: Konstantin Khabenskiy | 115 minutes | drama, history | Actors: Konstantin Khabenskiy, Christopher Lambert, Mariya Kozhevnikova, Michalina Olszanska, Philippe Reinhardt, Maximilian Dirr, Mindaugas Papinigis, Wolfgang Cerny, Roman Ageev, Saulius Balandis, Wieslaw Cichy, Sergey Godin, Darius Gumauskas, Felice Jankell, Dainius Koclauska, Dainius Mikolaj Krawczyk, Dirk Martens, Gela Meskhi, Kacper Olszewski, Andrius Paulavicius, Almutis Raila, Joshua Rubin, Ramunas Rodukas

‘Sobibor’ was the Russian entry for the Academy Awards in 2018. That shows in everything. The costumes are taken care of down to the last detail, the soundtrack also cost a lot of money and is neat and the heavy subject choice also aims for Oscar gold. The horrors of that war still capture the imagination and its consequences reverberate to this day. The choice for this subject is understandable, but there are better films in the genre. In addition, this film does not add anything to the excellent British TV film ‘Escape From Sobibor’ in which ‘our’ Rutger Hauer played the leading role.

‘Sobibor’ tells the true story of the uprising in the Sobibór extermination camp and the Soviet officer Alexander Pechersky. While a prisoner of war in Sobibor, he managed to do the impossible – to stage an uprising and mass escape of the prisoners. Some of these people died, while the rest, led by Pechersky, managed to escape and join the partisans.

Golden tip: take the laces out of your shoes when you watch this movie. This is very heavy fare and an attack on your constitution. In ‘Sobibor’, however, the Nazis are depicted as demonic villains instead of humans, while it was precisely ‘normal’ men who carried out these atrocities. By portraying these Germans as caricatural monsters, the safe route is chosen. On the other hand, this dehumanization is perhaps also more pleasant, because it is almost impossible to comprehend that apparently normal people put other people in a gas chamber. Anyway, ‘Sobibor’ is a heavy film about a pitch-black page in human history.

As mentioned, the sets, costumes and soundtrack are fine. The acting is unfortunately hit and miss. The Germans are portrayed as sniffed psychopaths. It’s also quite remarkable to see forgotten eighties action star Christopher Lambert as a German soldier. His dubbed voice and rather weathered head are quite distracting. He takes you right out of the movie. There could have been more to this.