Denial may not be the best Holocaust-related movie ever made, but to use its limitations as a platform to affirm Holocaust denial is far more wrong-headed. The millions of victims and survivors of the Holocaust – as well as the Allied troops that witnessed first-hand the horrors that had occurred when they marched into the camps, the Nuremberg trials tribunal (with actual filmed records used as evidence), and countless other voices – require no "proof" of this atrocity. It was murder, plain and simple, and whether on a mass or individual level, the victims of such (or any) crime must be served and punishment brought to the perpetrators. Thankfully, the Nazi regime of wartime Germany is in the past while those who have opposed it thrive on in the present. More than a dozen European countries (including Germany) have laws deeming Holocaust denial as illegal. Current German criminal law also bans "incitement to hatred" against any particular group within the population. Deniers of the Holocaust can shout as loudly as they want. It won't change the truth.
I too found Denial to be disappointing, for various reasons also cited. Elements in its acting and script struck me as possessing an overstated obviousness that worked against the effectiveness of the film. But the focus of these reviews should be the film, not the history. As another IMDb reviewer states, some of the negative reviews are politically motivated. These few are trying to denigrate not just the film but also its message. Thank goodness the majority of other reviewers think otherwise and treat the film fairly – as a film.
I too found Denial to be disappointing, for various reasons also cited. Elements in its acting and script struck me as possessing an overstated obviousness that worked against the effectiveness of the film. But the focus of these reviews should be the film, not the history. As another IMDb reviewer states, some of the negative reviews are politically motivated. These few are trying to denigrate not just the film but also its message. Thank goodness the majority of other reviewers think otherwise and treat the film fairly – as a film.