Broken Silence
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DVD Cover Information Actor: Alejandro Horvath, Benjamin Mehl, Jack Fuchs, Liza Zajak-Novera, Robert Lamberg Director: János Szász, Luis Puenzo, Marcel Lozinski, Pavel Chukhraj, Vojtech Jasný Brand: Universal Studios Producer: Christopher Pavlick Producer: James Moll Producer: John Ballon DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono Format: Black & White, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled Picture Format: 1.33:1 Running Time: 300 minutes DVD Release Date: 2004-03-09 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Studio: Universal Studios |
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Movie Reviews of Broken Silence
Movie Review: 5 poignant documentaries that deal with the Holocaust
Summary: 5 Stars
"Broken Silence" is an amazing production, consisting of five films about the Holocaust, as told by those who experienced its' horrors, and who came from different parts of Europe during WW II. Side I consists of "Some Who Survived", "Eyes of the Holocaust", and "Children from the Abyss". Side II contains "I Remember" and "Hell on Earth".
"Some Who Survived" was a unique documentary to me as it focuses on Jewish survivors who chose to make their homes in South America [Argentina, Chile, Uruguay] after the war. They speak in fluent Spanish throughout [and some even mention the fact that when they first arrived in Sth America after the war, they had a new language to learn] and I was quite amazed that these survivors, despite the atrocities they had suffered, came to South America, which was known for taking in Nazi war criminals and harboring them, such a Josef Mengele [the Auschwitz doctor of death] and Adolf Eichmann. But what ultimately stands out is the searing testimony by these survivors, who saw their families being ripped from them, family members being sent to their deaths etc.
The theme of loss and grief and at times, vengeance is seen in the other documentaries as well.
In "Eyes of the Holocaust", we learn of the Hungarian Jews extermination in the Holocaust. The frame for the documentary is a young girl who finds a book containing key terms defining the Holocaust such as 'deportation' and so on. As she reads these definitions, we are then shown the testimonies of actual survivors.
Though all the documentaries were unique in their own way [quite a feat considering they were all based on the Holocaust], the most poignant to me was "Children from the Abyss" which tells the stories of the Russian Holocaust survivors. What was really disturbing to me was watching the actual footage of massacres of innocent women, children and other civilians and the gruesome photographs. It was really hard to watch these atrocities, which were further reiterated by the actual testimonies of survivors, including those who had survived the infamous Babi Yar massacre [where thousands of Jews were machine-gunned/shot and dumped into pits, one group on top of another, some being still alive when they fell into the pits]. This was before the Nazis 'refined' their killing process and prior to the use of gassing and construction of death camps like Auschwitz.
"I Remember" was shot in a rather unique way. It only focuses on the testimonies of survivors, is shot is B&W, and alternating between the survivor trstimonies are shots of young Jewish people in the present who are participating in the "March of the Living". Though I liked the interview part of the documentary, I felt the frequent moving back and forth was rather distracting and even annoying after a while.
In "Hell on Earth", which is filmed in the Czech language, Czech Jewish Holocaust survivors give us their testimonies, many focusing on their camp experiences, especially in Terezin [Theresienstadt in German]. Ironically, despite being portrayed as the model camp by the German [who had actually put on a 'show' for the International Red Cross during WW II], this camp was actually in a deplorable condition, with its inmates living in starvation and suffering myriad illnesses and diseases. This particular documentary is also brutally graphic in its depiction of victims, showing film reels and photographs of mounds of corpses, walking skeletons, emaciated inmates etc. Mere words alone fail to convey the horrors portrayed here.
All in all, this DVD is highly recommended for education on the Holocaust.