The German Doctor (2013)
Wakolda
Film details
Drama · Thriller · History · Lucía Puenzo · 1h 30min
Synopsis
Patagonia, 1960. A German doctor meets an Argentinean family and follows them to a town where the family will be starting a new life. The family welcomes the doctor into their home and entrust their young daughter to his care, not knowing that he is one of the most dangerous criminals in the world.
Verdict
It portrays coexistence with a historical Nazi criminal without a modern ideological agenda.
In-depth analysis
The German Doctor narrates the arrival of Josef Mengele to an Argentinian family in 1960s Patagonia. The German doctor, a fugitive from justice, integrates himself as a guest while the family opens an inn by Lake Nahuel Huapi. The story explores the tension between everyday normality and the presence of a war criminal whose identity remains hidden. The central conflict is moral: the family accepts the foreigner without knowing his history, and the viewer observes how evil silently takes root. The film neither glorifies nor relativizes Nazi crimes; it presents them as a disquieting backdrop. There is no explicit sexual content or vulgar language. The violence is moderate and mostly implicit, referring to the character's past. It does not introduce ideas that distort human nature, family, or sexuality. Its value lies in showing how historical evil can infiltrate ordinary life without the victims immediately perceiving it. The tone is sober and maintains focus on the real threat the character represents.