Year after year we are given at least one film that deals with the atrocities of the Nazi regime. Unfortunately, not only do film-makers and studios milk the topic to their advantage (awards purposes, narrative purposes, yes, we’re looking at you, “The Reader”), but film-goers themselves are tired of the overload. What are we to do when a horrific event is not taken seriously because of Hollywood’s insistence to milk it to their advantage? Not to be entirely negative, as it’s clear that some film-makers absolutely have a connection to this travesty and feel that it is their duty to commit it to celluloid, but there’s always the other side of the coin.
Here is where “A Film Unfinished” comes in. For many years, film archivists and historians have been aware of a Nazi propaganda film titled “Das Ghetto,” which remained uncut and in raw form. The film contained reels that involved Jewish beggars, but more interestingly, it included staged shots of upper-class Jewish life, portraying their time in the Ghetto as extravagant and comfortable. The former bits were included in various exhibits and films, but for whatever reason, the staged bits — just as frightening because of the mystery behind their existence — were ignored. Director Yael Hersonski decided to study and investigate this film, hoping to shed more light on a very strange piece of unfinished propaganda and questioning the truth of film itself.
Hersonski not only displays the raw silent footage — which includes B Roll of the poorest, the wealthiest, and even outtakes of staged scenes – but includes an interview with one of the cinematographers of said film and survivors that witnessed the film crews. These direct connections to the subject flesh it out, providing incite, even if the question of why this film was done or why it was never finished aren’t answered. They also prevent the film from being too much of a dry history lesson, as they give humanity the film a sense of humanity. It’s not all depressing memories for these survivors, as they recount pleasant memories of their family life even within the context of the Nazi regime and Warsaw Ghetto. The film-maker isn’t afraid to show this type of human emotion, one that is very uncharacteristic in these kinds of films, and in the same sense, when one of the survivors can’t bear something on the screen or they break in tears, it’s real rather than exploitation. These genuine human interactions aren’t included to make the audience feel sympathy for them, but included because they can’t be removed without soiling the importance of the survivor’s commentary. Much like the Ghetto propaganda film, these inclusions are raw and very powerful.
What’s going to make this film stand out in the sea of Nazi Germany Holocaust films is Hersonski’s insistence on examining footage that everyone else seemed to ignore. The fact that this regime created an alternate reality, one of the joyous life they were giving the people that were to soon be taken to concentration camps, is frightening on an entirely new level. Not to undermine things the horrors of the aforementioned, but the examination of these scenes add a completely new layer of evil and confusion, a frightening unknown. The most disparaging thing is that this film – which absolutely should be shown everywhere, including elementary/primary schools – was slapped with an R rating, limiting its audience and completely defeating the purpose of the film-maker’s endeavor. Hopefully the controversy stirred up by its rightfully frustrated distributor will bring more eyes to a film that needs to be seen. [A]
