Reviews

This is the ONLY Holocaust film that is neither maudlin nor sensational but that delivers a punch with all the impact of a Hollywood blockbuster, but none of the glitz. Don't be put off by the fact that it's a foreign film (made before Czechoslovakia had been divided in two). It doesn't have that "dubbed" quality of a lot of foreign, English-language films. The acting, direction (and a wonderfully moving score that tracks the story line)and script are all synchronized in a stunning style. In fact, the European element helps to make it far more genuine than anything that's come out of Hollywood. One gets a sense that the filmakers and the actors were really plugged in to the history of what is, after all, a real story--that of the Nazi's "City of the Jews." This was a ruse of the Nazis to "prove" to the international community that they were taking care of "their" Jews by keeping them camped in segregated communities that had all the comforts of home. Of course, in reality, there was a back door track to the concentration camps that visitors were never shown.

But again, what makes this film so special is its avoidance of any pretense. The film makers don't milk the tragedy any more than it has to be. And the evil characters are not stereotyped into cardboard cut outs. And the heroes--well, there really are none, despite some heroic acts by normal folks.

Buy this film if you can. You'll want to pass it on to your kids.

Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I found the quality of the film lacking. Only one major plot mystery; otherwise not much complexity to either plot or character presentations. Compared to such classics as "Spy Who Came In From the Cold" or "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" (which still, unbelievably, is unavailable in video! Call BBC...), this film looks amateurish. Sound quality is bad and cinematography is weak, as well. Still the acting is smooth and the writing is crisp (sounds like a description of a good wine). What's particularly good is the hilarious portrayal of British nonchalance.

An unabashed celebration of the pionering spirit that motivated our ancestors to explore and settle regions that were literally off the map. The film may be a star vehicle that suits some well--like Jimmy Stewart and Gregory Peck--and others poorly--like George Peppard and Caroll Baker. But in the end, the spirit of the film--exemplified by its stirring theme song--echos the spirit in all of us descended from those who travelled far to stake out a claim for themselves in the wilderness. Fitting that the unseen narrator, whose words open and close the film, is Spencer Tracey--the quintessential American character actor. An average American who though neither star-like handsome, nor possessed of a rich baritone, nevertheless had that uncompromising strength that motivated American pioneers and remained ingrained in our spirit. If only half that spirit remains, we can survive the cultural, political and spritual wasteland which we now call home.