Konfrontation – Assassination in Davos

Based on the factual case of a young Jewish student who fled Germany and shot the leader of the Swiss Nazi party in 1936, Konfrontation remains unfortunately limited by its scrupulous efforts to be faithful to actual events. The quality of the film well matches the frequent insertions of newsreel footage. But beyond that, its technical limitations make the deliberate stylisation of events appear increasingly awkward. As an essay on the gradual rise and acceptance of persecution (by the oppressed in particular), it remains conscientious but unmoving, mainly because the protagonist's dilemmas (the act of political assassination grows out of personal crises rather than moral or intellectual convictions) are never satisfactorily explained. And on the question of Swiss neutrality, the film becomes increasingly hampered, ending with an interminable trial in which the film's themes are hammered out.