If you have seen plenty of Holocaust films like I have then you can expect the usual bleakness and horrors but this film asks its viewers what they would do if they were in the same predicament and before you make a hasty response you should rethink your answer. Story is about the true story of a revolt at the Auschwitz II-Birkenau where many of the ovens were destroyed that would end up saving lives. Inside these camps the Nazi's had Sonderkommandos who were Jews that would help gas other Jews in exchange for better living conditions and food and liquor. David Arquette is Hoffman and he and others are in charge of the Sonderkommandos and they must live with the fact that they help with the murder of countless other Jews. Doctor Miklos Nyiszli (Allan Corduner) is also a Jew but he is liked by Josef Mengele and in order to keep his family alive he must perform experiments on the prisoners and he is under the watchful eye of an alcoholic Nazi Officer SS-Oberscharfuhrer Eric Muhsfeldt (Harvey Keitel) and he hears rumors that an uprising is going to occur.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
In the woman's camp some of the female prisoners have taken some gunpowder and hidden it but the Nazi's find it and they start to torture Dina (Mira Sorvino) and Rosa (Natasha Lyonne). After gassing many Jews Hoffman discovers a young girl (Kamelia Grigorova) that has survived and he sneaks her into Dr. Nyiszli's office where she is revived and they decide to try and hide her.
This film was directed by Tim Blake Nelson and its based on his play and also the book about the real Dr. Nyiszli who survived the war and Nelson had this filmed in buildings that were especially designed to be just like the real Auschwitz buildings. I was hesitant to see another holocaust film but after watching this I came away thinking about two things. The first are the questions that this film asks its viewers, What would I do in that situation? It would be so easy to say that I would just allow myself to be executed but for many this wouldn't be that simple. Also, if you stay around you can help others by being involved in an uprising that will save many. These are hard questions and I commend Nelson for also reminding everyone that the Jews did everything they could to stop what was going on. They did manage to destroy many ovens and the end result was many lives being saved. The second thing that I was reminded of is that David Arquette is a very good actor that doesn't get enough chances to show it. He's shown good performances in small roles such as "Ravenous" but he always has to appear in usually dumb comedies to make a living. I hope future filmmakers remember him when they cast their next film. The big flaw of this film is the casting of American actors as either Germans or Hungarians and they don't even speak with accents. Keitel is the only one that speaks with one and its not all that convincing. If you can get over that and still sit through a film that you know is going to be bleak and depressing than you might appreciate what Nelson is trying to do. I did and I think this is a film that shows an event that everyone should be aware of.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
In the woman's camp some of the female prisoners have taken some gunpowder and hidden it but the Nazi's find it and they start to torture Dina (Mira Sorvino) and Rosa (Natasha Lyonne). After gassing many Jews Hoffman discovers a young girl (Kamelia Grigorova) that has survived and he sneaks her into Dr. Nyiszli's office where she is revived and they decide to try and hide her.
This film was directed by Tim Blake Nelson and its based on his play and also the book about the real Dr. Nyiszli who survived the war and Nelson had this filmed in buildings that were especially designed to be just like the real Auschwitz buildings. I was hesitant to see another holocaust film but after watching this I came away thinking about two things. The first are the questions that this film asks its viewers, What would I do in that situation? It would be so easy to say that I would just allow myself to be executed but for many this wouldn't be that simple. Also, if you stay around you can help others by being involved in an uprising that will save many. These are hard questions and I commend Nelson for also reminding everyone that the Jews did everything they could to stop what was going on. They did manage to destroy many ovens and the end result was many lives being saved. The second thing that I was reminded of is that David Arquette is a very good actor that doesn't get enough chances to show it. He's shown good performances in small roles such as "Ravenous" but he always has to appear in usually dumb comedies to make a living. I hope future filmmakers remember him when they cast their next film. The big flaw of this film is the casting of American actors as either Germans or Hungarians and they don't even speak with accents. Keitel is the only one that speaks with one and its not all that convincing. If you can get over that and still sit through a film that you know is going to be bleak and depressing than you might appreciate what Nelson is trying to do. I did and I think this is a film that shows an event that everyone should be aware of.