Wakolda (2013)

Wakolda: Directed by Lucía Puenzo. With Alex Brendemühl, Natalia Oreiro, Diego Peretti, Elena Roger. The true story of an Argentine family who lived with Josef Mengele without knowing his true identity, and of a girl who fell in love with one of the biggest criminals of all time.

“A simple Argentinian family makes a fresh start by reopening a hotel in the Pategonian mountains left behind by the mothers parents.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTheir first guest is a well spoken foreign man, who seems as mysterious as he is intelligent. His interest in this family and his further activities in the nearby town make us wonder about the double agenda he is keeping. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs the family starts to doubt his motives, and other characters also start to show their true colors, we are presented with an intricate tale of mounting tension and international mystery. Of course we know who we are dealing with, and this type of story would work even better if that detail was unknown, but it still works so well as it remains, for the biggest part, fiction. So anything can happen. The fact that we are dealing with THIS monster just gives the whole film an extra layer of creepiness.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film, to me, didnu0026#39;t come across as Argentinian at all, but I guess the mountainous (and snowy) surroundings and bilingual dialogue caused that. However this didnu0026#39;t matter as these surroundings where pretty spectacular and almost a character of their own.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSollid acting, all around. Particularly the doctor and the girl, but really everyone involved. As said, beautiful surroundings and locations and always nice to watch a period based story (eventhough some details may not have been entirely right). And above all, great storytelling. Nicely built up tension, never too sensational and it thankfully steers clear of the expected clichés dealing with a character of such history.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eGreat, engaging, emotional, old fashioned, must see film 8/10”