Saturday June 10, 1:30pm The Harvard Exit
This is the story of the Prague Jews surviving Nazi occupation during the war. The film takes the primary story image and shrinks it down to thumbnail size periodically, much like picture in picture, to show newsreel footage which uses a variety of sources including (if you can believe this) scenes from Leni Riefenstahl's 'Triumph of the Will' (1935)! Photographed quite nicely with an over all dark and oppressive tone, the use of sound effects is also highly unusual and effective as a tension-building device in a number of scenes. The central character Hana, a young doctor, remains in the city while her entire family is taken away to the death camps. The portrayal of Czech Jews in a struggle to retain their dignity in the face of terror and humiliation is sympathetic and effective.
This is the story of the Prague Jews surviving Nazi occupation during the war. The film takes the primary story image and shrinks it down to thumbnail size periodically, much like picture in picture, to show newsreel footage which uses a variety of sources including (if you can believe this) scenes from Leni Riefenstahl's 'Triumph of the Will' (1935)! Photographed quite nicely with an over all dark and oppressive tone, the use of sound effects is also highly unusual and effective as a tension-building device in a number of scenes. The central character Hana, a young doctor, remains in the city while her entire family is taken away to the death camps. The portrayal of Czech Jews in a struggle to retain their dignity in the face of terror and humiliation is sympathetic and effective.