never forget

Rating: 9/10 (16 December 2008)

Accidentally or not, this film is not about lost innocence. It is terribly tragic, sad and even depressing but it is not about lost innocence. It in many ways celebrates innocence in the most horrible of circumstances. Whether that is what the writer intended, I do not know. But that is the result. I had life long studies of the Holocaust. This is certainly an excellent film concerning the Holocaust.
The goodness of the characters is stunning amid the horrible darkness of the Holocaust. Both children retain there innocence through every moment of the film and even hold hands at the worst. They play and have fun no matter what the circumstances. They don't need money, cell phones, video games, big houses or mountains. They have they innocence and imagination that all people are meant to have. This is clear in the scene in which one of the boys is offered a chance to leave the area. He refused to leave. This seemed to bewilder some of the people in the audience. But the boy had a great friend and had great fun on a daily basis with his friend. He refused to even consider leaving to go back to his great world in a nice city or anywhere else. This reminds me of the way kids can play in the worst refugee camps in the world and still have fun. It is not how long you live but what is in a person's heart that matters. This is another deep meaning of this film.
There are a number of fine people in this story who show their goodness as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. The worst and best of humanity is often seen in real life in war or genocide. The mother is a fine woman who rejects her husband's involvement in the Holocaust. The Grandmother is another who rejects the evil philosophy of the Holocaust. Pavel is a very good man as the slave houseman and shows incredible decency. In contrast, we see the worst in human nature in the father who is the commandant of the death camp. Also the immature and pure mean young Nazi soldier is a cruel man. This film also illustrates the importance of empathy, sympathy and the ability to put ourselves in someone else's shoes. There is also the 12 year old daughter. The 12 year old daughter is copy cat entirely brainwashed by Nazi propaganda. She is the utter opposite of the historical figure Ann Frank. Even this girls affection for the mean Nazi soldier is nothing like the genuine affection by Ann Frank of a teen boy in the tremendous old film Diary of Ann Frank.
The young German son of the Nazi commandant slowly comes to terms with the evil system of the Nazi's. He is, in effect, an 8 year old member of the German resistance without even knowing it. He also has the ability to know when he is wrong in the scene in which he apologizes to the inmate boy for not telling the truth about something to the mean soldier because of fear. He is also blessed with the ability to see truth. His young rationality allows him to see through the lies that Jews are somehow not human. He comes to see that his father is consumed by evil. Yet, he balances his enthusiasm with truth. We also, see the great respect the prisoner boy has for his own father. Power, status, and money mean nothing to these children.
Ultimately, this film is terribly tragic. It reminded me of Anne Frank who was a real life person who maintained her strong heart in the midst of terrible circumstances. It is this belief that sustains good verses evil. As long as someone believes in this spirit these people were ultimately victorious. The old saying of "never again" can also include "never forget" these individual people who had so many tragic stories and so many moments confronting incredibly powerful evil forces.