There is this story about a Catholic priest (Abbé Henri Kremer / Monsignore Jean Bernard) allowed by Nazis out of the concentration to go back home to Luxembourg for eight days to bury his mother. He was to return to the camp on the ninth day. The incredible actually happened. The priest in question returned to the camp, was finally released in 1942 (why?) and wrote a book about his ordeal. The book has about 100 pages and the part taken for the film is a small fraction from that book, not even a couple of pages. Several questions arise: how became it possible that the Nazis gave leave to someone from a camp? Who intervened in high places that his might be possible? The bishop from Luxembourg, mentioned in the film, earned the nickname 'The silent one' during the war because he did not speak out against the occupation. It leads to think that he might have intervened in some kind of Machiavellic plot to turn the whole of the lower clergy to the Nazi side by showing the doubters among them that the Nazis were not the monsters after all. The book on which the film is based was first published in the 1950s by the leading Catholic newspaper publisher. Over the years it became thicker because of the many introductions and forewords added. It was the same newspaper publisher who pushed the filming of the story, who got Schlöndorff on the director's seat and who is pushing now the viewing of the film by handing out free tickets and making a huge publicity. To me this whole film is nothing but propaganda for the role of the C. Church and a kind of manipulation of history by not releasing the real facts about this story. Like any propaganda movie it should be rated 0 out of 10. Sit down Mr. Schlöndorff and go over your homework once again!
Review of The Ninth Day
