Just watched this on DVD. Having read all the comments, in and of itself, I am glad to have heard the story. I did write down the names of the books authored by these people, so I'll be interested to read these eventually, and judge a little for myself the worth of the contributions, assume-ably completed after the rescue. William Hurt was as good as ever, Julia Ormond as beautiful as I've ever seen her. Matt Craven is a familiar face I've seen in many movies and here gave a solid nuanced performance as well. It's a shame his talent has yet to give him the recognition he deserves.
The comment about the Julia Ormond character doing an injustice to the real person, I can't comment on. I'll jot down the info on her book and see for myself. I have to take the movie for what it was and plead ignorance to inconsistencies I'm not aware of.
It was a good movie. Heartbreaking and one I hadn't heard of either. I understand they couldn't rescue everybody. I understand that Varian was limited to trying to save those who could best bare witness and who's prior fame was to have offered a more concrete and believable platform from which to convince America of the gravity of Europe's destruction, and the need for them to intervene. That was the ideal of his mission, and really the only reason he had funds enough to save those he could. There was no resolution here though, nothing to show if any of this group contributed to affecting this. Perhaps the books written will shed more light on this period, I don't know yet.
I do know this. That their first and foremost mission upon arrival in America should have been to immediately convince the world of what Hitler was doing and to help get the others out. Did this happen? Did they work night and day toward this effort or return to their art and intellectualism and let their fellow countrymen be damned. Because if they didn't do this, then I don't give a damn what they wrote or painted or composed or sculpted after the war. In the world they lived in right then all of these took a distant second place to their responsibility to humanity.
The most forever haunting heart-breaking and utterly depressing scenes in this movie were those when men women and children begged for their lives and were turned away. Varian played God here. If those that were rescued did not commit their all from the safety of America they damned these people twice over. If Varian and his organization back home did not see they were forced to do so then I'm afraid my admiration for what he achieved is diminished greatly. No man has the right to determine a stranger's worth. Those damned and turned away were of no less consequence than those saved.If those rescued did not do all they could, this turns into a tarnished elitist farce. I'll place this as a new topic heading in the forum and perhaps some of you reading this can tell me.
The comment about the Julia Ormond character doing an injustice to the real person, I can't comment on. I'll jot down the info on her book and see for myself. I have to take the movie for what it was and plead ignorance to inconsistencies I'm not aware of.
It was a good movie. Heartbreaking and one I hadn't heard of either. I understand they couldn't rescue everybody. I understand that Varian was limited to trying to save those who could best bare witness and who's prior fame was to have offered a more concrete and believable platform from which to convince America of the gravity of Europe's destruction, and the need for them to intervene. That was the ideal of his mission, and really the only reason he had funds enough to save those he could. There was no resolution here though, nothing to show if any of this group contributed to affecting this. Perhaps the books written will shed more light on this period, I don't know yet.
I do know this. That their first and foremost mission upon arrival in America should have been to immediately convince the world of what Hitler was doing and to help get the others out. Did this happen? Did they work night and day toward this effort or return to their art and intellectualism and let their fellow countrymen be damned. Because if they didn't do this, then I don't give a damn what they wrote or painted or composed or sculpted after the war. In the world they lived in right then all of these took a distant second place to their responsibility to humanity.
The most forever haunting heart-breaking and utterly depressing scenes in this movie were those when men women and children begged for their lives and were turned away. Varian played God here. If those that were rescued did not commit their all from the safety of America they damned these people twice over. If Varian and his organization back home did not see they were forced to do so then I'm afraid my admiration for what he achieved is diminished greatly. No man has the right to determine a stranger's worth. Those damned and turned away were of no less consequence than those saved.If those rescued did not do all they could, this turns into a tarnished elitist farce. I'll place this as a new topic heading in the forum and perhaps some of you reading this can tell me.