Based on a true story of German resistance to the Third Reich during World War II, “Truth and Betrayal” plays it conventionally. The familiar elements of a historical film telling an epic story are all there: the righteous hero, the conflicted villain, the systemic violence. There are fiery speeches, chase scenes and tense moments. But Matthew Whitaker’s film does not surprise at any point in its duration, failing to add a singular artistic touch. While telling a gripping story, it plays like so many other films about this dark period in Europe’s not-so-distant history.
Helmuth Hübener (Ewan Horrocks) is a 17-year-old clergyman who leads an ordinary life with his family in Hamburg – as ordinary as possible during the troubled times in which the film takes place. He goes to school, plays with his friends and even finds a job in a local government. He then begins to question what is happening around him. The bishop of his church begins pledging allegiance to Adolf Hitler before his sermons. Its inclusive Mormon church prohibits Jews from entering its premises. One day he discovers that one of his closest friends, Solomon Schwarz (Nye Occomore), has been kidnapped by the state because he is Jewish. When his older brother brings home a radio that broadcasts foreign stations, including the BBC, he begins to realize that what he is being told is nothing but lies and propaganda.
As a studious and intelligent young man, Hübener had an oratory and writing talent influenced by his love of reading. He uses these skills and what he learns from listening to the radio news to write pamphlets about the truth about the war. He calls on two of his friends, Karl-Heinz Schnibbe (Ferdinand McKay) and Rudi Wobbe (Daf Thomas) to distribute them throughout Hamburg. There’s a propulsive energy to these early scenes. Whitaker, from a script he wrote with Ethan Vincent, manages to create moments full of tension. What happens to Schwaz is not clearly shown. The audience is only privy to his fear in the moments leading up to his kidnapping – and Hübener’s devastating discovery afterwards – although there is plenty of violence, with many fights and beatings resulting in blood-soaked faces as Hübener faces the wrath of Nazi sympathizers in his community, including his own father-in-law (Sean Mahon).
True to the facts, the courageous teenager is finally arrested by the Gestapo. The second half of the film dissolves into a sad tale of interrogation and torture. As an investigator, Rupert Evans plays a more important role in the story. At first, he doesn’t understand that this teenager works alone, but as he gets to know him, a feeling of admiration takes hold. This part of the film is much more obvious and less forceful than the previous one. Still, Horrocks and Evans match well and the relationship between the captive and the jailer is explored.
Despite these mostly compelling elements, “Truth and Treason” is ultimately an old-fashioned period piece with epic aspirations. The characters and narrative are accompanied by expansive, intrusive music that strives to dictate to the audience exactly what they are feeling at each moment of the story. The actors speak with clipped English accents that seem jarring in relation to the German story. The script does not allow the characters to be overshadowed, with the exception of that of Evans: they are presented either as good-hearted people favorable to Hübener, or as downright odious fascists who attack him.
“Truth and Betrayal” is a well-intentioned, competently made film that never transcends the safety of its own conventions. Whitaker makes a sincere film full of admiration for Hübener’s courage and idealism. However, sincerity cannot compensate for narrative stereotypes. It is a conscientious attempt to recreate the life of a noble man that nonetheless offers its audience little in the way of art or entertainment.
