Directed and written by James Vanderbilt, the film Nuremberg revisits the trial of Nazi leaders in 1945. Starring Rami Malek, Russell Crowe, and Michael Shannon, this historical drama, distributed in France by Nour Films, will be released in theaters on January 28, 2026, following national previews on January 27 for International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Presented at the Toronto Film Festival and in competition at San Sebastián, the film adopts the point of view of American psychiatrist Douglas Kelley, who was tasked with assessing the mental fitness of the defendants. His face-to-face encounter with Hermann Göring, a central figure in the Nazi regime, structures a psychological confrontation that questions individual and collective responsibility.
The story shows how Kelley finds himself drawn into an intellectual duel where manipulation becomes a central issue. Through archives, reconstructions, and dialogues focused on the issues at stake in the Nuremberg Trials, the film highlights a defining moment in international law.
The production, praised for its historical accuracy when presented at festivals, recreates the political and judicial context of the post-war period. Sony Pictures Classics is handling distribution in the United States. The French release marks an important milestone for Nour Films, presented as the most ambitious in its history.
The film is aimed at audiences interested in historical dramas, courtroom stories, and the study of the mechanisms of power. The themes focus on international justice, individual responsibility, and the impact of this trial on memory.
Our Review of Nuremberg:
Nuremberg captures a pivotal moment of the 20th century, when the world, still stunned by the magnitude of Nazi atrocities, attempts to confront the unthinkable. Instead of a comprehensive, purely demonstrative reenactment of the trial, the film narrows its focus to a more intense, almost dizzying perspective: the psychological assessment of the accused, particularly Hermann Göring.
Through this lens, the story delves less into judicial mechanics than into the core of human nature—its most disturbing facets—posing a chilling question: are these men fundamentally different from us, or frighteningly similar? The film maintains a classic yet never stagnant tone, alternating scenes of courtroom confrontation, tense personal exchanges, and more introspective moments, all with a rhythm that sustains interest from start to finish.
Most notably, it leverages its immediate historical context—the trial taking place right after the war, at a time when the world was only beginning to grasp the full reality of concentration and extermination camps—to evoke a sense of moral urgency: we are judging while understanding is still forming, shock and bewilderment leading the way.
The historical reconstruction meets the gravity of its subject, understated yet precise, believable in its sets, costumes, and detailed protocols, and sufficiently visceral so that the period feels like an open wound rather than a museum exhibit. Visually, Nuremberg also stands out for its cinematography and lighting work: dark, sculpted interiors that carve out the faces and create a chiaroscuro atmosphere where truth never emerges easily, while maintaining a sober elegance in its imagery without showiness.
But it is primarily the actors who lend the film its power. Russell Crowe commands a charismatic, unsettling Göring, capable of shifting from calculated friendliness to symbolic violence that fills the frame; some may find his performance “over the top,” but its excess reveals the ordinary monstrosity—this ability to occupy space, seduce, manipulate, and weave stories.
Opposite him, Rami Malek crafts a more inward-facing psychiatrist—an observer caught in the trap of what he uncovers: a man searching for signs of deviation, inhumanity, incapacity, and ultimately confronting a disturbing conclusion. Because beyond the historical thriller, the film’s core message is less about understanding “why,” than about examining “how”: how seemingly rational, socially integrated individuals can commit horrors—and how the comforting idea of radical difference collapses.
While some critics lament a simplification or a formulaic narrative, Nuremberg compensates with its powerful performances, formal restraint, and ability to turn a chapter of history into a compelling, necessary cinematic experience—an unflinching reflection that leaves a mark. It’s gripping, not because it claims to say everything, but because it dares to face the most uncomfortable truth: nothing fundamentally separates these men from others, and that is precisely why vigilance remains essential.
Nuremberg
Film | 2026
In theaters on January 28, 2026
Drama, Historical | Duration: 2h28
Directed by James Vanderbilt | Starring Rami Malek, Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon
Country: USA
This historical drama revisits a defining moment of the 20th century and sheds light on the issues at stake in the first major contemporary international trial.
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