New movie depicts a vicious Nazi death camp guard, who lived for years in Queens undetected
A new film titled 'The Housewife' depicts the life of Hermine Braunsteiner Ryan, a Nazi concentration camp guard who lived undetected in Queens, New York, for years. The article reviews the film while detailing the historical atrocities committed by Ryan.
Why it matters
The story serves as a historical reminder of the presence of war criminals in post-war society and the ongoing cultural interest in documenting these events.
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Add The New York Post on Google She was the perfect American neighbor — sweet, hardworking and the ideal homemaker. Everybody liked her.
The new movie “The Housewife,” which had its world premiere this week at the Toronto International Film Festival, tells the strange story of Hermine Braunsteiner Ryan, a notoriously cruel Nazi death camp guard who hid out undetected for years in New York, before finally being caught.
Director Ben Shirinian’s film, starring a Stepford-style Naomi Watts as Ryan, is just OK. The drama is often overplayed. Watts, with a store-bought sauerkraut accent, has been stuck in schmactor mode lately. And the screenplay fidgets with the facts of the real story in order to force a plot twist that doesn’t quite land.
But the history of this major event is fascinating — and frightening.
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