“Ich bin die Königin von Auschwitz”, (“I am the Queen of Auschwitz”), Hedwig Höss says at one point – with a wry, nonchalant, and complacent film on her face –, in what is Sandra Hüller’s strongest performance since Toni Erdmann (r. Maren Ade, 2016). What renders this line petrifying is not just its absolute inadequacy or its immediate association with history’s darkest abysses, but rather, it’s the tone – both jovial and arrogant, spoiled and yet somewhat serious. In another scene, when she tells her husband Rudolf, the architect of the most horrific crime in modern history, that their actions are in line with what the Führer meant by Lebensraum, her eyes are imploring, shining beneath her pursed eyebrows, and the horrific part about is her sincerity.

Flavia Dima

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Film critic & journalist. Collaborates with local and international outlets, programs a short film festival - BIEFF, does occasional moderating gigs and is working on a PhD thesis about home movies. At Films in Frame, she writes the monthly editorial - The State of Cinema and is the magazine's main festival reporter.

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