Director: Frank Beyer
This is a surprisingly smart film about the living conditions in Jewish ghettos during World War II. I've seen plenty of Holocaust movies now, but this one is surprisingly smart in the way it deals with the question of hope vs. truth. The main crux of the movie is whether or not the main character, Jacob, is doing the right thing by lying about some positive news, when he really has no idea. It is a movie about hope, but it's smart because it also goes into the perils of false hope.
The fact that the movie does show that in the end, false hope is just temporary pleasure to precede disappointment makes this movie better than many other movies that talk about how great hope is. It is a bit melodramatic during parts, when I would have liked it to be more subtle because I think everyone knows how horrible the situation for Jews was. But ultimately it's definitely one of the smarter Holocaust films I've seen. Something to think about is that one way this film is different may be because it was made in East Germany, perhaps adding a perspective fairly unique to most viewers.
Grade: B
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