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A dramatization of one man's rescue of Jewish refugees in the Nazi-occupied Polish city of Lvov.
"In Darkness" is a pitiless glimpse into the inferno, into hell not only on earth but below it. Based on a true story, it takes you into the sewers of the Polish city of Lvov during World War II, a place where a group of Jews lived for more than a year under circumstances that are almost unimaginable.
But, as directed by the veteran Agnieszka Holland, "In Darkness" is not a typical Holocaust film. For one thing, even more than in her 1990 film "Europa, Europa," Holland's directing style is cool, almost dispassionate. It's as though she's insisting that, as detailed in David Shamoon's effective script, these horrific events should speak for themselves without special pleading, if they are to speak at all. And for another, the film's focus is not on the Jews but on the anti-Semitic, Catholic Pole who becomes their unlooked-for savior and lifeline.
"In Darkness" is also honest enough to show how the enmities and conflicts that existed among the Jews aboveground were carried into the sewer and worsened by that desperate environment. In a world where everyone was looking for an angle, hoping to survive the nightmare and maybe even turn other people's misery into a tidy profit, the fact that a fragile humanity survived at all is little short of a miracle.
Holland, interestingly enough, dedicates "In Darkness" twice. At the film's beginning, she singles out Marek Edelman, the Jewish leader of the legendary Warsaw Ghetto rebellion. At the end, mention goes to the more than 6,000 Poles, more than any other nationality, who are recognized as Righteous Gentiles by the Israeli government for having risked their lives to save Jews. "In Darkness" shows us how extraordinarily fraught that choice was.
Review by: kenneth.turan@latimes.com
"In Darkness" is a pitiless glimpse into the inferno, into hell not only on earth but below it. Based on a true story, it takes you into the sewers of the Polish city of Lvov during World War II, a place where a group of Jews lived for more than a year under circumstances that are almost unimaginable.
But, as directed by the veteran Agnieszka Holland, "In Darkness" is not a typical Holocaust film. For one thing, even more than in her 1990 film "Europa, Europa," Holland's directing style is cool, almost dispassionate. It's as though she's insisting that, as detailed in David Shamoon's effective script, these horrific events should speak for themselves without special pleading, if they are to speak at all. And for another, the film's focus is not on the Jews but on the anti-Semitic, Catholic Pole who becomes their unlooked-for savior and lifeline.
"In Darkness" is also honest enough to show how the enmities and conflicts that existed among the Jews aboveground were carried into the sewer and worsened by that desperate environment. In a world where everyone was looking for an angle, hoping to survive the nightmare and maybe even turn other people's misery into a tidy profit, the fact that a fragile humanity survived at all is little short of a miracle.
Holland, interestingly enough, dedicates "In Darkness" twice. At the film's beginning, she singles out Marek Edelman, the Jewish leader of the legendary Warsaw Ghetto rebellion. At the end, mention goes to the more than 6,000 Poles, more than any other nationality, who are recognized as Righteous Gentiles by the Israeli government for having risked their lives to save Jews. "In Darkness" shows us how extraordinarily fraught that choice was.
Review by: kenneth.turan@latimes.com
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