Wakolda

Also known as ‘The German Doctor’, this curious, surprisingly safe melodrama from the director of daring Argentinian indies ‘XXY’ and ‘The Fish Child’ fictionalises the postwar life of brutal Nazi surgeon Josef Mengele (Àlex Brendemühl). Lying low in the Andes under an assumed name, Mengele takes shelter with a local family and becomes worryingly interested in Lilith (Florencia Bado), an underdeveloped 12-year-old who desperately wants to grow up.

The plot of ‘Wakolda’ may be entirely fictional, but its depiction of how Argentina’s German immigrant population clung to the remnants of fascism is fascinating. Also, Puenzo’s treatment of the relationship between the doctor and his innocent object of study is uncomfortably intimate. A shame, as well, that the film lacks a compelling storyline – there’s far too much coincidental eavesdropping and too many supporting characters, and it all sputters to a limp, unsatisfying climax.