A few weeks ago, I watched a fascinating documentary by Errol Morris, entitled Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Frank A. Leuchter, Jr. As the title suggests, the film chronicles the life of Frank A. Leuchter, a controversial American execution technician who has helped holocaust deniers prove that gas chambers did not exist in Nazi Germany.
Before watching this documentary, i read up on the film's subject, and came to the conclusion that there was no way I could end up feeling anything but disgust for Leuchter. By the end of the film, I was surprised at how Morris managed to paint this seemingly despicable man as someone who is merely disturbed, rather than overtly evil. Morris does an excellent job (as usual) of bringing his character's internal state to the screen, as the documentary serves to explore the inner working's of Leuchter's strange (and many would say, twisted) mind.
The one thing that amazed me most about this film was that Leuchter seemed more than willing to open up about any number of subjects, even if they might seem self-incriminating. This is truly a testament to Morris's ability to establish a relationship of trust with his subject, a relationship that is so important in the field of documentary. We saw this ability earlier in the semester, when we watched the episode of First Person, where Morris chronicles the life of the autistic Temple Grandin.
I would highly recommend this film to all, although I must warn that the subject matter is at times very unsettling. I've always found holocaust deniers absurd and offensive, but somehow Morris almost made me feel sympathy for a man I would otherwise despise.
Note: For some reason, Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Frank A. Leuchter, Jr. is available in its entirety on google video. While the stream isn't the best quality, its still decent enough for a viewing! Here is the link: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=654178281151939378
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