Judgement in Berlin (1988)

Excellent court room drama!

American judge in Germany must decide if the hijacking of an East German plane into West Berlin was justified. Having been stationed at Tempelhof Central Airport in the 1980s, this movie had particular significance. The book is a difficult read–full of legal terminology and political machinations, but in short–the story of a Jewish judge, sent to Berlin not-so-many years after WWII to try East Germans for hijacking an aircraft to freedom in the West.

The movie misses a lot of the subtleties, but is detailed enough to give a good picture of the political climate at the time. A federal prosecutor, Judge Stern was selected to head this trial after many other judges resisted taking on this political “hot potato”. The theory is that a Jewish judge in post-war Germany would go along with what was originally envisioned as a sort of “sham” trial intended to lead directly to convictions.

Directed by: Leo Penn Starring: Martin Sheen, Sean Penn, Sam Wanamaker, Max Gail