An absolutely fabulous film.
I have just finished watching this film on DVD and I would like to say that it is one of the very best films I have seen for some time. The film, I think, is based from an almost total child's eye view and is pulled of to great effect. The performances from all of them main characters were truly remarkable, and all with very convincing accents, not easy I would imagine for such young actors. However, the entire film is stolen by the performance of one actor, Liam Hess. His performance made the film for me. His acting was superb and believable (as was his accent) and indeed with such a difficult subject that the film was addressing; it makes the film all the more brilliant.
I am surprised that this film is almost three years old, and I have not heard of it before this? Was this an oversight on my part or was the film just not `pushed' at the box office?
(Spoilers?) The subject contained within the film is a very difficult one to handle and it takes a very skilled team of actors and directors etc. to make sure that the films works, here they do it very well. There are some harrowing scenes, such as the shooting of the peasants and the killing of the boy, which turned the film from a simple yarn into something much more complex. Indeed, it is quite ironic that the killing of the Polish boy, near to the end, caused the life of the Jewish boy to be saved, perhaps some poetic justice?
The holocaust is such a terrible thing in the history of the world, and is a very difficult subject to discuss today, however with films like this is makes the subject just that little bit easier to tackle.
I give this film 9/10 and would say that this is certainly one for the collection.
I have just finished watching this film on DVD and I would like to say that it is one of the very best films I have seen for some time. The film, I think, is based from an almost total child's eye view and is pulled of to great effect. The performances from all of them main characters were truly remarkable, and all with very convincing accents, not easy I would imagine for such young actors. However, the entire film is stolen by the performance of one actor, Liam Hess. His performance made the film for me. His acting was superb and believable (as was his accent) and indeed with such a difficult subject that the film was addressing; it makes the film all the more brilliant.
I am surprised that this film is almost three years old, and I have not heard of it before this? Was this an oversight on my part or was the film just not `pushed' at the box office?
(Spoilers?) The subject contained within the film is a very difficult one to handle and it takes a very skilled team of actors and directors etc. to make sure that the films works, here they do it very well. There are some harrowing scenes, such as the shooting of the peasants and the killing of the boy, which turned the film from a simple yarn into something much more complex. Indeed, it is quite ironic that the killing of the Polish boy, near to the end, caused the life of the Jewish boy to be saved, perhaps some poetic justice?
The holocaust is such a terrible thing in the history of the world, and is a very difficult subject to discuss today, however with films like this is makes the subject just that little bit easier to tackle.
I give this film 9/10 and would say that this is certainly one for the collection.