Director Louise Archambault brings us our second film this month dealing with a rescuer during the Holocaust. The script is by Dan Gordon, based on his Broadway play focusing on the young Polish nurse Irena Gut Opdyke. Like One Life, it is a heartening example of what one well-lived life can accomplish. Irena (Sophie Nélisse) …
One Life (2023)
Almost exactly 24 years ago I reviewed the documentary Into the Arms of Strangers that told the story of the Kindertransport, a group of projects involving ten thousand Jewish children whom kind-hearted people were able to transport to England from Hitler-dominated Europe just before World War Two erupted. Director James Hawes’s, film straddling two time …
The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler (2009)
True story of a brave Catholic social worker who poses as a nurse in order to smuggle children out of the Warsaw Ghetto.
The Song of Names (2019)
French Canadian filmmaker writer-director François Girard, who gave us the exquisite The Red Violin in 1998, gives us another film in which a violin is important. Instead of transpiring over several centuries, this film spans the years from Hitler’s invasion of Poland to the night of a concert in 1951 to the 80s when a …
The Zookeeper’s Wife (2017)
During the Nazi era the animal-loving wife of the Warsaw Zookeeper works with her husband & young son in hiding & helping 300 Jews escape from the city.
The Innocents (2016)
This haunting film, set in the aftermath of WWII, is one you shouldn’t miss. Click the image to read my entire review.
Uprising (2001)
The heroic story of the Jews rising up against the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto is told in great detail, this being one of the few instances of fighting back.
KORCZAK (1990)
This is the story of the last few years of the life of Dr. Korczak, well known for his writing & radio broadcasts, when the Nazis forced all Jews into t. Warsaw Ghetto, and he tried to protect children in his orphanage from deportation.
The Immigrant (2013)
Immigant Ewa obstacles when she & her sister come to Ellis Island. Bruno becomes benefactor & oppressor as she works for his revue. Her freedom comes hard.
Ida (2013)
A fascinating 5-star film by Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski explores faith and the complex history of eastern Europe. Click the title to read my entire review.