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The Jewish genocide is one of the most terrible pages in human history, and the millions of victims will never be forgotten. Not least thanks to the cinema, because many outstanding films were shot on this topic, telling about the horrors and injustice of those events.
Today we decided to recall the top 10 films dedicated to the Holocaust, collecting both Hollywood films and films of domestic production.
10 «Witnesses» | 2018
The movie almanac “Witnesses” consists of three short films: “Shoes”, “Brutus” and “Violin”. In these works, director Konstantin Fam pays tribute to the memory of the victims, and also tries to remind the younger generation, who are not familiar with history, about them.
Each of the novels was nominated for an Oscar, and although the award passed them by, they were warmly received by foreign critics and received many other awards. In addition to Russia, France, Israel, the Czech Republic, Poland and Belarus took part in the production.
9. «Schindler’s List» | 1993
The film tells about the feat of Oskar Schindler, who, thanks to his connections and membership in the nationalist party, was able to save more than 1 Polish Jews from execution during the war. Of course, for the sake of the plot, many real details were embellished and changed, but the picture only benefited from such metamorphoses.
“Schindler’s List” has been in the top ten of the best American films for many years (it currently occupies the 9th line), having a lot of awards to its credit. Film academics have appreciated the directorial work of Steven Spielberg, presenting him with an Oscar statuette for best director and best film. In addition, the drama received 5 more awards, as well as 7 BAFTA awards and 3 Golden Globes.
8. «Pianist» | 2002
The director of The Pianist, the odious Roman Polanski knows firsthand what the Jews experienced in the ghetto. He himself, as a child, lived in one of these areas, having personally gone through all the hardships of the German occupation.
Based on the real story of the pianist Wladyslaw Shpilman, Polanski managed to make one of the best films about the Holocaust. Adrien Brody, who played the title role, became the youngest Oscar winner and truly showed his acting talent.
7. “Sophie’s Choice” | 1982
During World War II, in many German concentration camps, women were only allowed to have one child, so the main character Sophie had to make a terrible choice: to leave her six-year-old son and abandon her three-year-old daughter, who was sent to the crematorium.
The son was also taken away from his mother, sent to a children’s work camp, and Sophie herself was made a servant at the “top” of the camp leadership. The leading lady, Meryl Streep, received her first major Oscar for this film (before that, she had a statuette for Best Supporting Actress).
6. “Sobibor” | 2018
The directorial and screenplay debut of Konstantin Khabensky, who also played the main role. The film tells about the real story of the uprising of the prisoners of the Sobibor military camp in 1943, which was the only successful one during the entire war.
The main character is Lieutenant Alexander Pechersky, who was captured and sent to the camp for execution, since in addition to wearing an enemy uniform, he was also a Soviet Jew. Not wanting to give up without a fight, he plans and organizes an uprising in just 3 weeks, which leads to a mass escape of Sobibor prisoners.
The role of the antagonist here was played by Christopher Lambert, who in the image of Karl Frenzel, the German boss, looks very convincing.
5. “Surviving with Wolves” | 2007
Little Misha’s parents were deported from Belgium, where they were hiding from persecution, and, left completely alone, Misha decides to follow them east, on foot and without money. Along the way, she is forced to steal food and clothing to survive, but the real danger lies in the woods, where she nearly dies.
From imminent death, she is saved by wolves, whose animal hearts were melted by her helplessness. Over time, she becomes a full-fledged member of the pack, at the same time watching how blood and fire cover Europe. The girl understands that people are much more cruel and merciless creatures than wild animals.
4. “Boy in striped pajamas” | 2008
The father of eight-year-old Bruno is a Nazi official who is transferred from Berlin to the vicinity of a concentration camp. It contains and executes Jews, killing them in gas chambers. The boy, due to his age, does not understand and is not aware of the horrors that are happening outside the “farm” fence, therefore he considers people dressed in striped robes with numbers on their chests to be simply strange.
One day he meets the Jewish boy Shmuel, with whom he communicates through the fence, and gradually they develop a friendship. The friendship between the son of a Nazi and a Jew, who, despite the difference in origin, will end the same way.
3. “The Day the Clown Cried” | 1972
German comedian Helmut Dork imprudently joked about Hitler, for which he was repressed and sent to Auschwitz. The headstrong clown was regularly beaten for putting on small shows for Jewish children, trying to somehow brighten up their hard life.
One day, the head of the camp decided to use Helmut’s kindness, ordering him to entertain the children on the way to the gas chamber, where they were executed. Cheerful and carefree outwardly, he trembled with horror inside, seeing off the children to certain death, until one day he dared to go with them.
2. “The Zookeeper’s Wife” | 2017
Another story about saving hundreds of Jews based on real events. The director of the Warsaw Zoo, together with his wife Antonina (played incomparably by Jessica Chastain), hid the fugitives from the Warsaw ghetto in empty cages, despite the huge risk.
Their close family friend, who is also in love with Antonina, became a high-ranking Nazi, but even the proximity of exposure did not stop this married couple.
1. Son of Saul 2015
The fictional story of the escape from Auschwitz, directed by debutant director Laszlo Nemes and starring non-professional actor Geza Roerig, became one of the best films of 2015.
Despite the modest budget and the inexperience of the film crew, they invested the main thing in the picture – the soul. A 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival are just a few of the accolades Son of Saul has received.