"A Film Unfinished"
Let me start by saying I am a history nut and a fan of documentaries in general, so I went in with a certain attitude about the film I guess. For those that don't know, this is a documentary about a Nazi propaganda film in the Warsaw Ghetto made a couple of months (05/42) before the mass extermination started that was discovered unfinished in a film vault with other Nazi films with a single title on the reels: "The Ghetto". It was a good total run time (about 90 minutes) with good pacing. We saw quite a bit of the actual reels of the film (I like the sound that the old projectors make) and we also had survivors from the Ghetto watching and reacting and we also had recreation of testimony given by one of the makers of the film, not the SS who ordered it but the actual film maker.
I soak up WWII and Holocaust history, so this was right up my alley. The questions one is left with are the motives behind the film...obviously it was propaganda, but given the timing of filming, what purpose was it set to serve? Breaking down the sinister motives was interesting but obviously unresolved since the film was never completed. I will say that this is not for the casual person watching their first documentary or documentary about WWII or the Holocaust. The themes are complex, and though the film is interesting, it is not "graphic" like many Holocaust films are (at least until the last few minutes). For those who prefer action, they will likely be disappointed, but if you like history and you like analyzing a particular aspect of it, this one is a home run. I give it a solid 4/5 stars, it isn't iconic like Night and Fog, but it is very good and very much worth watching for the right filmgoer. It is streaming on Netflix now.
Let me start by saying I am a history nut and a fan of documentaries in general, so I went in with a certain attitude about the film I guess. For those that don't know, this is a documentary about a Nazi propaganda film in the Warsaw Ghetto made a couple of months (05/42) before the mass extermination started that was discovered unfinished in a film vault with other Nazi films with a single title on the reels: "The Ghetto". It was a good total run time (about 90 minutes) with good pacing. We saw quite a bit of the actual reels of the film (I like the sound that the old projectors make) and we also had survivors from the Ghetto watching and reacting and we also had recreation of testimony given by one of the makers of the film, not the SS who ordered it but the actual film maker.
I soak up WWII and Holocaust history, so this was right up my alley. The questions one is left with are the motives behind the film...obviously it was propaganda, but given the timing of filming, what purpose was it set to serve? Breaking down the sinister motives was interesting but obviously unresolved since the film was never completed. I will say that this is not for the casual person watching their first documentary or documentary about WWII or the Holocaust. The themes are complex, and though the film is interesting, it is not "graphic" like many Holocaust films are (at least until the last few minutes). For those who prefer action, they will likely be disappointed, but if you like history and you like analyzing a particular aspect of it, this one is a home run. I give it a solid 4/5 stars, it isn't iconic like Night and Fog, but it is very good and very much worth watching for the right filmgoer. It is streaming on Netflix now.
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