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Film Rips Apart Nazis' Posh Depiction of Warsaw Ghetto

Yael Hersonski takes on Das Ghetto

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 18, 2010 2:06 PM CDT

(Newser) – A stunning new documentary goes into limited release today, taking a different and absorbing look at the Holocaust. Dubbed A Film Unfinished, the piece, from Israeli director Yael Hersonski, revolves around a never-completed German propaganda film called “Das Ghetto.” Shot in 1942, the silent film contrasted Jews living in luxury in the Warsaw ghetto, with the poor ones in the street. For years, it was seen as flawed but authentic—until new footage uncovered in 1998 revealed that all the scenes showing privileged Jews were staged.

Hersonski’s film examines “Das Ghetto” reel-by-reel. She interviews one cameraman, and reads from diaries of the ghetto’s residents. In one scene, she shows the film to survivors of the ghetto, and films their horrified reactions. Critics are predictably wild about the project. It’s “remarkable as much for its speculative restraint as for its philosophical reach,” marvels Jeannette Catsoulis of the New York Times, while Lisa Schwarzbaum of EW applauds Hersonski for her exacting research, which "is its own tribute to those no longer able to testify.”

A screenshot from the trailer of A Film Unfinished.
A screenshot from the trailer of "A Film Unfinished."   (YouTube)
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A trailer for "A Film Unfinished."   (YourtubeTrailers)

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COMMENTS
Showing 2 of 5 comments
draftybeer
Aug 19, 2010 9:24 AM CDT
Most of the people that were there don't make comments......very few survived.....
J.S.
Aug 18, 2010 8:45 PM CDT
Does this put Jews back in the lead for sob story of the year or does slavery still hold the edge in the U.S. of A.? Im glad Im a white guy...dont have to deal with all this perceived baggage.

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