Yesterday, Professor Smaldone made a blog post about the re-release about the film “Shoah,” about the Holocaust, and I felt that I had to make my own post about the topic. I would like to speak about two different ideas related to this topic. Firstly, I would like to discuss two films about the Holocaust that I have seen that were not mentioned by Professor Smaldone’s post. Secondly, I would like to briefly discuss my own trip week-long visit to Poland in June, and share with you some pictures that I took of the actual places where the monstrosities that are depicted in these films were committed by the Nazis.
Before and during my trip to Poland, my class was shown many films about the Holocaust. There are many incredible films that have been produced about the Holocaust, and it is important to understand that the events of these films actually happened in our world, relatively recently. Several films about the Holocaust are not only emotional because of the subject matter, but have been truly amazing works of art. “Schindler’s List”, which Professor Smaldone mentioned in his post, is probably the most famous Holocaust movie ever made. The film, which was directed by Steven Spielberg is must-see for anyone who like to historically and culturally knowledgeable. The other films that Professor Smaldone mentioned were “Life is Beautiful” and “Shoah.” You can read more about these films in this New York Times Article. However, I believe that best two Holocaust films that I have seen are “The Pianist” and “Escape from Sobibor.” Both of these films are extremely well-made, in addition to being inspiring stories of survival and heroism. “Escape from Sobibor” tells the true story of the most successful uprising by Jewish prisoners during the Holocaust, and is based on the book by the same name. It also features admirable acting performances by Alan Arkin, Joanna Pacula, and Rutger Hauer. As good as the film was, I thought “The Pianist” was one of the most well-made movies I’ve seen period. In addition to the flawless directing of Roman Polanski and acting of Adrien Brody, and the numerous Academy Awards it received, the film is overflowing with artistic beauty. The combination of the jaw-dropping visual images the magnificent music creates an essentially perfect aesthetic creation.
Because don’t want to drag this blog post on for too long, I will keep my description of my trip to Poland brief. I would simply like to comment that living in Poland for a week, in which I visited countless concentration camps, cemeteries, and memorial sites from the Holocaust was an experience that is difficult to describe in words. I will never be able to watch these films with the same mindset as I had before I went on the trip. I took hundreds of pictures during my week in Poland, but I will select a few to show on the blog that will be very meaningful if you watch or have watched any of the films described in this post. You can see them at the top of the post.
Watch the entire film “Escape from Sobibor” here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4stuU9yc4k
Watch the Pianist trailer here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itR0-I9idXk
Very good post. Nothing like a discussion of the Holocaust to strike a nerve and get a discussion going! I don’t know escape from Sobibor, but the Pianist is another film that fills in the spectrum between “Shoah” and “Life is Beautiful.” These films and this discussion allows us to look at a larger phenomenon that has to do with your final exam, and that is the relative challenge of the material and the relative size of its audience. The poems of Paul Muldoon, for example, might be compared with Billy Collins (or John Lennon?) at one end and Ezra Pound on the other end of the spectrum.