42/31
Through the eyes of a strong-willed woman, Irena Gut tells the remarkable story of the human spirit and its triumph over devastating tragedy as she risked her life to save a generation of Jews from the horrors of the Holocaust. Although this Canadian film was released in Canada to a much wider audience than the typical Canadian film, for some reason its distributor, Elevation Pictures, decided not to give the film a significant marketing budget. As a result, the film performed poorly at the box office and was pulled from most theaters in its third week or at the end of its run. (approx. 2 minutes) The opening credits announce that the action takes place on the eastern side of the Polish border. This area of Poland has been occupied by the Soviet Union. Yet, the area is occupied by German forces. Irena Gut Opdyke: What does it matter who we are? We do what we are. BoumMusic Charles Trenet Lyrics: Charles Trenet Performed by Charlie and his band. I’ll admit that I’ve failed to keep up with current movie releases over the years, as my knowledge has been mostly ad hoc, based on my streaming services. I’d heard nothing about this movie until I saw it on Showtime a few nights ago, and I knew almost the same about any of the parties involved. I rarely write notes on IMDB, but in this case I’m going to draw a line in light of the undeservedly mediocre overall score, which is skewed by an opinion that seems ridiculous in every way. So on to the movie itself. As others have noted, the acting and production values may be uneven, but what a story! There’s more than a little Schindler’s List here, but it’s even more extraordinary, as the main character has nothing but privilege. Others have summarized the plot well; I won’t do that here, but as fascinating as it is as a thread, it’s even more so the moral complexity and humanity of all the characters, even the Germans, and the cock-eyed perspective. filmmaker that while they are not the primary bad guys here, the Soviets are almost as responsible as the Nazis for their actions during this time, lying about the "Good Fight" misnomer (as are so many other things completely unrelated to this film, such as the Japanese-American internment, the bombing of civilians in Germany and Japan, the indifference to the plight of European Jews, etc., etc.). I am often moved by great cinema, but I have to admit that I get a little more than tears when watching the stories of real-life characters that unfold during the finale (don’t miss this one!). This comes out somewhere between an 8 and a 9 for me, but the doubt about the greatness of the story and the need to boost the collective score is a plus. I will note that although this film is not Polish, it is set there and makes up two of the best films of recent years, along with “Forgotten Love.” Highly recommended.