Many films have been made of unique Holocaust related issues, scenarios and subjects. This is one of them. The children of Windermere were a group of refugees who made their way to England during the Holocaust to recover and ultimately resettle and make new lives. The film begins promisingly with the children's expected mistrust of their hosts and over-appreciation for simple slices of bread once in England. After the initial opening scenes and expected adaptation difficulties, the film combines scattered scenes featuring a few of the refugees, but they don't add up to much until near the end. The last ten minutes or so are great, leading up to some of the actual refugees thoughts in old age. For such a unique story, even for the Holocaust, the scenes are not really linked in a way that is compelling enough given the subject matter. We never learn enough about the characters, based on real people, to care enough about what happens, and the film loses some steam half way through before picking up again in the last half hour. Still worth a watch to learn about another of one of the many pockets of people affected by the Holocaust. 2 1/2 of 4 stars.
Review of The Windermere Children
