The Devil's Arithmetic
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Movie Reviews of The Devil's Arithmetic
Movie Review: Passover: It's the Cracker Thing
Summary: 4 Stars
THE DEVIL'S ARITHMETIC belongs to the quasi-real world of time travel. Mark Twain in A CONNECTICUT YANKEE, Dorothy in THE WIZARD OF OZ and Sam Tyler in LIFE ON MARS all tell a similar tale of one who travels through time and space to meet a past that intermingles with the present. Here, Kirsten Dunst is Hannah Stern a 1990's Jewish girl who cannot comprehend why her elders take their Jewishness so seriously. At a Passover ceremony, she asks her mother why do we attend such services, and the reply her mother makes (because we have to) is a dramatic counterpoint to the ritual question asked during the Seder ceremony: "Why is this night different from all other days?" The answer, of course, is that we choose to make it to remind us that what makes us both human and Jewish is our stubborn unwillingness to forget our blood purchased past merely to embrace the joys of being a Valley Girl. Hannah is just such a valley girl whose greatest concern is to decide what tattoo to carve on her arm. This tattoo motife carries somewhat greater import later in the film when Hannah has a different tattoo burned onto her arm--a death camp number. During the Seder, Hannah drinks too much only to find that she has time and space travelled to Poland in 1941. There she meets younger versions of her family that in future years make up her relatives in New Rochelle. Soon she is whisked off to a concentration camp where survival is unsure.
THE DEVIL'S ARITHMETIC is a sanitized version of SCHINDLER'S LIST. The number of deaths is minimized and the actors, though wearing camp garb, are reasonably fit. Director Donna Deitch intended this as a Showtime television movie suitable for younger audiences, many of whom are probably not unlike Hannah in seeing their Jewish roots as little more than a cracker thing. Deitch takes the novel by Jane Yolen and does not flinch from being melodramatic. The Bad Guys are stereotypical Nazi camp commandants, possibly since the historically "real" Nazis were far more prosaic and mundane in their genocide. What is worse, the film argues--to kill in the momemt of passion as the Nazis do in this film or to kill as part of a dispassionate Master Plan a Final Solution? In either case, Hannah can see that the dull lessons learned on the Holocaust are being re-enacted right in front of her knowing eyes. Dullness, she learns, is a quality that soon disappears when one has a reason to pay attention. It is this ability to bring life to a horror beyond horrors that imbues THE DEVIL'S ARITHMETIC with the realization that when one's elders speak in hushed tones of long gone Days of Evil, then the younger generation, like Hannah, ought not to forget why this night is different from all others.
Movie Review: A good resource for use in middle school and up
Summary: 4 Stars
"The Devil's Arithmetic" is the movie adaptation (there's an excellent introduction by Dustin Hoffman) of Jane Yolen's book of the same name. Fans of the book looking for a faithful adaptation will be disappointed, but I still found this an engrossing watch. It is one of the few movies about the Holocaust apart from the three screen versions of The Diary of Anne FrankThe Diary of Anne Frank, The Diary of Anne Frank, and The Diary of Anne Frank (As Seen On BBC)that portrays the point of view of a teenager enduring the Holocaust without being overly graphic in its depiction of brutality, and thus proves invaluable as a resource for use in History, Social Studies, and Language Arts lessons at the middle school level and up.
Kirsten Dunst plays Hannah, a young Jewish girl who feels detached from her Jewish identity and disinterested in learning about her culture. Whilst attending (out of reluctance) a relative's Sabbath meal, Hannah is chosen to open the door for Elijah, and when she enters the room, she finds herself transported to a different time altogether - that of 1941 Poland, where she finds herself under the care of her aunt and cousin Rivka (Brittany Murphy). Hannah struggles to come to terms with this amazing change in her life, and just when she thinks events could not possibly get worse, she finds herself, Rivka and the rest of the Jewish population in their small village rounded up by the Nazis and taken to a concentration camp. Hannah endures a lot - hunger, mental turmoil, fear, etc. but still manages to 'entertain' the other female inmates with her fantastical stories which actually describe her life back in the present day. Hannah also finds herself making some life-changing choices towards the end.
As I said, the movie is not exactly an exact translation of the book and neither does it accurately portray all aspects of camp life (it is not even stated which camp the Jews are incarcerated in, and there were no kapos or supervisors in the camp), but I think it is well-made enough to appeal to a teenage audience and can be used as a valuable teaching tool in the classroom. The main actors especially Dunst and Murphy do a credible job in conveying the fear and turmoil they experience as they are abused and imprisoned in the camp. The ending is quite powerful and makes for excellent discussion. Recommended.
Movie Review: A solid, emotional page-to-screen translation of a young adult classic
Summary: 4 Stars
Jane Yolen's "The Devil's Arithmetic" is a classroom fixture and a benchmark in young adult literature for its vivid yet sensitive portrayal of the Holocaust. In this Showtime made-for-TV adaptation, introduced and produced by Dustin Hoffman (himself from a family of Polish Jews), the novel is brought to life in a way that shows younger viewers the horrors of the Holocaust without being overtly gory.
Modern teenager Hannah Stern resents being made to participate in her Aunt Eva's Passover celebrations, feeling no attachment to her religion. As her relatives, all concentration camp survivors, try to recount their experiences, Hannah turns away, bored. All of this changes as Hannah is chosen to perform the ritual act of opening the door for the Prophet Elijah--instead of the hallway of her aunt's apartment, Hannah is transported to rural Jewish Poland, circa 1941.
Hannah attempts to make sense of her old life, and the girl her new Polish "family" expects her to be. As time passes, more and more of her old life becomes a dream. Hannah and her cousin Rivkah explore the town before attending a wedding, at which point Nazis round up the wedding guests and load them onto trucks.
The remainder of the film focuses on the day-to-day struggle to live in the concentration camp in powerful moments of stolen identities: the grim shearing of hair, the painful tattoos of blue numbers, the bitter cold and backbreaking labour. Although this is a children's film, there are plenty of grim realities: the beating and hanging of several men who attempt to escape, women suffocating in a gas chamber.
Several previous reviewers have mentioned inaccuracies (swing music, banned by Hitler in 1938, is played in a lounge), but despite the small flaws, for a low-budget film, it captures the drama and power of the original novel. Much of the original plot has been changed, mostly for the better, but readers may find some transitions confusing.
The film's acting, cinematography, costumes, and sound editing are all top-notch. There are moments of quiet beauty, of love that transcends time, of the will to survive against the odds. Kirsten Dunst gives a stunning performance as a spoiled teen that learns the meaning of ultimate sacrifice, cherishing her heritage and religion when confronted with the horrors of the Holocaust. An excellent companion to the novel, and a good introduction to the Holocaust for young teens.
Movie Review: Excellent Resources fosr World War II When Used with the Book
Summary: 4 Stars
Dustin Hoffman's poignant introduction reveals his passion that young people today never forget the horrors of the holocaust. To my surprise, the film proved to be a most riveting and attention-holding movie, "The Devil's Arithmetic" is geared to teenagers.
Modern teenager Hannah Stern, feeling no attachment to her religion, resents being made to participate in her Aunt Eva's Passover celebrations,. As her relatives, all concentration camp survivors, try to recount their experiences, Hannah turns away, bored. All of this changes as Hannah is chosen to perform the ritual act of opening the door for the Prophet Elijah--instead of the hallway of her aunt's apartment, Hannah is transported to rural Jewish Poland, circa 1941.
Hannah attempts to make sense of her old life, and the girl her new Polish "family" expects her to be. As time passes, Hannah and her cousin Rivkah explore the town before attending a wedding, at which point Nazis round up the wedding guests and load them onto trucks going to the concentration camp
If ever a theme of love, sacrifice, and the horror of hatred needed portrayal outside the realm of religion, one could not do much better than to show this film. What Hannah does for her best friend at the movie's conclusion is as gut-wrenching as it is predictable, and Nazi treatment of the Jews is brutally captured with appropriate reserve--no easy task! In the end, a young Jewish girl who began only with an interest in tattoos learns the lessons of history, tradition, and above all--life's priorities. In a nutshell, how lives and a culture can change in an instant is the strength of "The Devil's Arithmetic".
Be very sure--this film will make a powerful impact on young teens! The dropping of the gas pellets at the conclusion of the dream sequence is intense...very intense. Yet how can the Holocaust be portrayed without such reality? With younger teenagers, take care that background preparation, as well as a reflective time for discussion is provided.
Movie Review: Interesting, provocative and powerful!
Summary: 4 Stars
I was born years after the holocaust occured. Decades after.
What I know of it, I know of books, movies and stories told to me by those who lived through it and experienced it first hand (or even second hand). To that end, I have no true reference point to say whether or not this movie was true to life. What I do know is that it stayed true to the horrors that were the holocaust. What I do know is that it runs parallell to virtually every story I've ever been told about this horrific series of events.
The images are powerful and stark, but not so disturbing that a Junior High child will be scarred for life. I do believe it will move them. I do believe it will give them their first real glimpse into this horrifying period of Mankind's history. It will give them a tiny glimpse into the heart of true EVIL. I do believe it will cause many inquisitive children to want to learn the truth about this tragedy. It will give them pause to talk to Grandma or Great Grandma about what they experienced as a child. It will breed empathy and sympathy. I know this because I've seen it have this effect on kids.
The movie itself takes a fantasy approach to a real world, historical event. You're carried into the dream world of Hannah, (Dunst) who is somehow magicaly transported back to the days of World War 2. What she experiences transforms her from a typical "apathetic" teen to a wisdom-possessing child on the verge of womanhood. It grants her an understanding of the world few children can ever truly possess. Through this dream (or is it a dream?) her eyes are opened to reality. The line between good and evil becomes a bit more clouded, though the truth about Mankind's existence becomes all too clear.
A great way to introduce children to this disturbing period of history. a strong story, worthy of praise. Contrary to what some others have felt, I felt as though it was a decent adaptation of the book.