In the first episode of “Hunters”, a new series from Amazon Prime Video, the Nazi hunter played by Al Pacino explains how the Second War continues to haunt the United States in 1977: “The past is all there is, repeating over and over again, with new players of new times, hoping for a different outcome.”
It is the possibility of the appearance of a fourth Reich in the USA that moves the series created by newcomer David Weil, which tells the story of specialists in finding former members of Hitler’s army living in the country. Some hidden, others protected by the American government itself, which used German scientists to gain an advantage in the Cold War.
Despite being sold as a plot inspired by real events, “Hunters” takes a lot of creative liberties. Yes, after the end of the war thousands of Nazis fled Allied troops, most of them went to South America. Some came to try their luck in the USA. But there was never a group of people investigating and hunting Nazis violently.
“It is part of creation, almost like an unfulfilled wish that there were secret hunters eliminating these Nazis,”, Weil says. “There were real groups hunting these people, but they were acting in the courts and using the legal system.”
But the show offers a Hollywood action rhythm in a comic book style. Jonah Heidelbaum (Logan Lerman) is a Jewish orphan who talks to friends about “Star Wars” and works in a comic book store. After seeing his grandmother murdered, he becomes involved with Al Pacino’s millionaire and joins the hunting team.
“Hunters” was conceived by the screenwriter five years ago as a tribute to his grandmother, a survivor of Auschwitz. Childhood memories turned into an unusual encounter between Marvel and the heavy dramas of war.
“She told me stories about her time in the war. A six-year-old boy listening to these stories was like listening to something out of a superhero comic,” said the creator. “I felt it was my responsibility to continue her story. Many Holocaust survivors are no longer with us and the community has grown smaller over the years.”
This mix of genres was one of the reasons for Al Pacino to play his first major role in a television series –he had previously participated in a miniseries, “Angels in America”, in 2003. “There is a kind of originality to this program that is eccentric ”Says the actor. “There are elements that take you by surprise, jokes that come out of nowhere and an amplitude that requires ten hours to tell.”
Of course, “Hunters” is also a response to the rise of neo-Nazism today. During the episodes, the characters repeat warning phrases like “only the dead know the end of the war” or “Americans are too busy thinking they are their own enemies”.
“It was a mission to wear this vigilante cape in the face of the rise of anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia in the world. It is a desire to illuminate crimes and hidden truths,” says Weil, who was concerned not to turn real villains into caricatures.
“We are not trying to humanize Nazis, but I think there is a specter of evil that we need to face. Some are extreme, others had several explanations for their behavior, such as ‘I was just following orders’, ”says executive producer Nikki Toscano. “These arguments, of course, do not fit in ‘Hunters’.”
