In the crowd, a young boy is separated from his parents as the gates close, the quota being filled. The boy is distraught and struggles to reach his parents. What is surprising is how successful he is, dragging two soldiers along the muddy road. Then we realise that the wire fence is bending towards him, being twisted as if by a giant hand. This miracle abruptly ends as yet another soldier slams the but of his rifle into the boy's face.
Powerful images abound in the film.
But at no stage is it heavy handed. This is one of those great stories where things are not always clear. We feel sympathy for the most violent and aggressive character in the film, Magneto. Even the bigoted and opportunistic Senator gets our sympathy when he is imprisoned and subjected to experimentation by Magneto. What's even scarier is that some of the good Senator's speeches actually made some sense.