Secret Lives - Hidden Children and Their Rescuers During WWII
by Aviva Slesin
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DVD details
Director: Aviva SlesinBrand: Genius
Cinematographer: Anthony Forma
Cinematographer: Itamar Hadar
Producer: Aviva Slesin
Editor: Ken Eluto
Producer: Ann Rubenstein Tisch
Producer: Toby Appleton Perl
Writer: Toby Appleton Perl
Producer: Tony Appleton Perl
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Unknown
Format: Black & White, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 90 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-07-20
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Fox Lorber
DVD Reviews of Secret Lives - Hidden Children and Their Rescuers During WWII
DVD Review: If you've ever wondered about the children....
Summary: 5 Stars
If you've ever wondered about the children that were hidden from the Nazis, this film will give you some insight. The first hand presentations by adults who were children then are heart warming and sincere. It is too bad more could not have been hidden from the wrath of the Nazis. Well done and interesting.DVD Review: Well done documentary about an important topic
Summary: 5 Stars
This film is very moving. Each story of child and rescuer brings to light deeper issues. This is an unforgettable gallery of people, each of whom is remarkable in their own way.DVD Review: SECRET LIVES.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've given this movie 5 stars. What can I say that every other reviewer hasn't already said? It should be required viewing material, in all school districts, in order for a student to graduate. What a horrific time in history.DVD Review: A touching and personal portrait of unsung heroes.
Summary: 5 Stars
"Secret Lives" is the story of Jewish children throughout Europe who were hidden from the Nazis, embedded into Christian families. Through the first 45 minutes or so, Aviva Slesin (a hidden child herself, though her own story is barely mentioned) weaves together archival footage, photographs and interviews with both the hidden and the hiders into a rather moving narrative. It is a testament to Slesin's work that I felt nothing less than a rush of affection for all these brave men and women who risked their own lives and the lives of their families to save children, sometimes strangers. If left me to wonder, as Ed van Thijn, a hidden child and former mayor of Amsterdam does in the movie, would I have had the courage to have done this myself? How many documentaries really make you reflect inward in such a fashion?
The last half hour or so of the piece is dedicated to a completely untouched issue-- the impact on the lives of these children upon reintegrating into their families and in many cases, their religions. Here the piece turns a bit, a number of confusing emotions dominate the landscape, things I couldn't begin to understand.
It's hard to describe what viewing this film was like-- it could be stunningly touching, horrifying, uplifting, magical. A really broad base of thoughts have come to mind, not the least of which is that this should be shown in high schools across the country. As someone who just turned 30, in retrospect it seems my education did a disservice by dehumanizing World War II, painting it in bright colors and statistics. "Secret Lives" does a fine job, by exploring a handful of people who are still alive to talk about the experience, of painting a significantly more human picture than textbooks and documentaries have, at least for me, done. More importantly, I think it really presents a cross-section of just how confusing the times must have been-- one minute, you stare in horror at the atrocities man can commit, another, you stare in awe at just how much compassion man can commit.
I'd be remiss in discussing this movie without making mention of the soundtrack, John Zorn's Filmworks XI - 2002 Volume One Secret Lives (Featuring the Masada String Trio). It was actually the sensitive nature of Zorn's score, touching and powerful without ever being reduced to schmaltz, that led me to this film. Against the celluloid, Zorn's score expertly moves the narrative along and provides emotional support throughout.
For anyone interested in learning more about not so much the history of World War II and the Holocaust but the human experience of the horrors and the stunning selflessness that manifested as a result, "Secret Lives" is a film worth investigation. Highly recommended.
DVD Review: wonderful documentary
Summary: 5 Stars
this movie gives a gilmpse at the heroism and courage that these people portrayed in the film showed.not for a moment,or an hour,but for years.these families truly loved these children, and their humanity is quite stark against the actions or inactions of many of their countrymen.
Description of Secret Lives - Hidden Children and Their Rescuers During WWII
Included in the DVD are director's notes. Before the Second World War, more than 1.5 million Jewish children were living in Europe. By the end of the Holocaust, less than one in ten had survived. Secret Lives tells the emotional stories of a small number of those who were saved by non-Jews in extraordinary acts of bravery and kindness. These men and women of uncommon decency did everything from bringing Jewish children into their families to securing hiding places in closets, attics, or hastily dug bunkers. Directed by Academy Award? winner and former hidden child Aviva Slesin, this captivating documentary reveals what happened between the children and their rescuers and shows how this experience forever changed their lives.General DVDs
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