Holocaust films
My video library: Remembering the Holocaust
Roman Polanski's latest, The Pianist, is the most recent in the list of Jews who lived the Holocaust and have their story told - on print and on the big screen.
Many Jews made it through the Second World War alive, but not many were able to recount their harrowing experiences. It takes Hollywood to immortalize them, like in the case of Schindler's List. Then there are those not worth sitting (would you recommend Sophie's Choice if not for Meryl Streep's haunting performance?).
The Pianist is an indication that these ghetto flicks wouldn't be out of vogue soon, as there's a constant need to be reminded of an unspeakable atrocity that mustn't be repeated. European cinema happens to churn out the most compelling pictures involving Jews, but Hollywood took notice of only a few of them. Here are four of those:
Au revoir, les enfants/Goodbye, Children (France, 1987) by Louie Malle
Cast: Gaspard Manesse, Raphael Fejto, Francine Racette, Irene Jacob.
Synopsis: A new student is welcomed to a Catholic boarding school during Nazi-occupied France. His class' top student becomes his roommate. It didn't take for them to reveal each other's secrets. The headmaster guards dearly one of them.
Why you should rent it: Malle made a Jew-related film in the 70s called Lacombe, Lucien. Critics raved it, but it was fictitious. Au Revoir, Les Enfants is based from an incident that happened during Malle's youth. The finale is heartbreaking.
Trivia: Malle was married to Candice Bergen, a five-time Emmy winner for the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown.
Europa Europa (Germany-France-Poland, 1990) by Agnieszka Holland
Cast: Marco Hofschneider, Rene Hofschneider, Julie Delpy, Ashley Wanninger.
Synopsis: “A cat with nine lives” is the appropriate description of German-Jewish teenager Salomon Perel. His family moves to Poland to escape Hitler, only to found out that his army invaded it. Separated from his family after an attack, he ends up in the Russian side and conceals his Jewish roots to survive. Another attack puts him in the hands of the Germans and a turn of events makes him a part of Hitler's Youth Army!
Why you should rent it: You may find some scenes too good to be true, but believe it or not, Salomon Perel is real. He reunites with his brother at the end of the war, and settles in Israel, where he lives there ever since. It's amazing how Salomon managed to embrace Judaism, Communism and Nazism during his teenage years. Furthermore, director Holland includes some surreal scenes that are funny, but provoking (check out that dream sequence where Hitler and Josef Stalin dances together).
Trivia: Controversy seems to be Holland's middle name, as the Polish filmmaker starred in Interrogation, which was made in 1982, but wasn't released internationally until 1990 because it was about a woman jailed for a crime she didn't commit and is tortured and treated badly while in prison.
Comedian Harmonists (Germany-Austria, 1997) by Joseph Vilsmaier
Cast: Ulrich Noethen, Ben Becker, Heino Ferch, Meret Becker
Synopsis: “These people are used to Beethoven and Wagner. Do we stand a chance?” - asked one of these male sextets. They did by employing comic acapella sounds in their musical numbers. They end up as one of Germany's most celebrated artists during the late 20s and early 30s. Their friendship and career withstand ego clashes and relationship problems, but what put an end to both is Hitler's rise to power because three of the members are Jews.
Why you should rent it: Those who lived during the early 20th century recalled that Berlin was the cultural capital of Europe during that time. The movie perfectly captured the ambiance and hedonism of that period. However, Vilsmaier was dubbed the Steven Spielberg of Germany, so don't expect any dark undertones.
Trivia: One scene shows the Comedian Harmonists perform in front of US sailors. Look sharp and you'll notice black faces in uniform. It's a historical boo-boo because segregation existed in the US military until 1948. Then again, film buffs will watch this for the Harmonists' performance so who cares about this minor blip?
Divided We Fall (Czech Republic, 2000) by Jan Hrebejk
Cast: Bolek Polivka, Csongor Kassai, Jaroslav Dusek, Anna Siskova
Synopsis: A childless couple put themselves in a precarious situation when they hide their Jewish neighbor while fending off suspicions from their friend, who happens to be a collaborator.
Why You Should Rent It: Hrebecjk amusingly shows that all of us can be hero and traitor at the same time. It's never black or white, which what makes us simply human. Furthermore, the movie earned an Oscar nomination (for Best Foreign Language Film) a few years ago.
Trivia: Hrebecjk directed, wrote, produced and acted in his other works like Big Beat (1993) and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex but were Afraid to Experience (1988).
(First published in The Manila Times on May 30, 2003)
Roman Polanski's latest, The Pianist, is the most recent in the list of Jews who lived the Holocaust and have their story told - on print and on the big screen.
Many Jews made it through the Second World War alive, but not many were able to recount their harrowing experiences. It takes Hollywood to immortalize them, like in the case of Schindler's List. Then there are those not worth sitting (would you recommend Sophie's Choice if not for Meryl Streep's haunting performance?).
The Pianist is an indication that these ghetto flicks wouldn't be out of vogue soon, as there's a constant need to be reminded of an unspeakable atrocity that mustn't be repeated. European cinema happens to churn out the most compelling pictures involving Jews, but Hollywood took notice of only a few of them. Here are four of those:
Au revoir, les enfants/Goodbye, Children (France, 1987) by Louie Malle
Cast: Gaspard Manesse, Raphael Fejto, Francine Racette, Irene Jacob.
Synopsis: A new student is welcomed to a Catholic boarding school during Nazi-occupied France. His class' top student becomes his roommate. It didn't take for them to reveal each other's secrets. The headmaster guards dearly one of them.
Why you should rent it: Malle made a Jew-related film in the 70s called Lacombe, Lucien. Critics raved it, but it was fictitious. Au Revoir, Les Enfants is based from an incident that happened during Malle's youth. The finale is heartbreaking.
Trivia: Malle was married to Candice Bergen, a five-time Emmy winner for the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown.
Europa Europa (Germany-France-Poland, 1990) by Agnieszka Holland
Cast: Marco Hofschneider, Rene Hofschneider, Julie Delpy, Ashley Wanninger.
Synopsis: “A cat with nine lives” is the appropriate description of German-Jewish teenager Salomon Perel. His family moves to Poland to escape Hitler, only to found out that his army invaded it. Separated from his family after an attack, he ends up in the Russian side and conceals his Jewish roots to survive. Another attack puts him in the hands of the Germans and a turn of events makes him a part of Hitler's Youth Army!
Why you should rent it: You may find some scenes too good to be true, but believe it or not, Salomon Perel is real. He reunites with his brother at the end of the war, and settles in Israel, where he lives there ever since. It's amazing how Salomon managed to embrace Judaism, Communism and Nazism during his teenage years. Furthermore, director Holland includes some surreal scenes that are funny, but provoking (check out that dream sequence where Hitler and Josef Stalin dances together).
Trivia: Controversy seems to be Holland's middle name, as the Polish filmmaker starred in Interrogation, which was made in 1982, but wasn't released internationally until 1990 because it was about a woman jailed for a crime she didn't commit and is tortured and treated badly while in prison.
Comedian Harmonists (Germany-Austria, 1997) by Joseph Vilsmaier
Cast: Ulrich Noethen, Ben Becker, Heino Ferch, Meret Becker
Synopsis: “These people are used to Beethoven and Wagner. Do we stand a chance?” - asked one of these male sextets. They did by employing comic acapella sounds in their musical numbers. They end up as one of Germany's most celebrated artists during the late 20s and early 30s. Their friendship and career withstand ego clashes and relationship problems, but what put an end to both is Hitler's rise to power because three of the members are Jews.
Why you should rent it: Those who lived during the early 20th century recalled that Berlin was the cultural capital of Europe during that time. The movie perfectly captured the ambiance and hedonism of that period. However, Vilsmaier was dubbed the Steven Spielberg of Germany, so don't expect any dark undertones.
Trivia: One scene shows the Comedian Harmonists perform in front of US sailors. Look sharp and you'll notice black faces in uniform. It's a historical boo-boo because segregation existed in the US military until 1948. Then again, film buffs will watch this for the Harmonists' performance so who cares about this minor blip?
Divided We Fall (Czech Republic, 2000) by Jan Hrebejk
Cast: Bolek Polivka, Csongor Kassai, Jaroslav Dusek, Anna Siskova
Synopsis: A childless couple put themselves in a precarious situation when they hide their Jewish neighbor while fending off suspicions from their friend, who happens to be a collaborator.
Why You Should Rent It: Hrebecjk amusingly shows that all of us can be hero and traitor at the same time. It's never black or white, which what makes us simply human. Furthermore, the movie earned an Oscar nomination (for Best Foreign Language Film) a few years ago.
Trivia: Hrebecjk directed, wrote, produced and acted in his other works like Big Beat (1993) and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex but were Afraid to Experience (1988).
(First published in The Manila Times on May 30, 2003)
posted by Francis Rex Alger @ 3:55 PM
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