Documentary Explains The Butterfly Project
Jan Landau started The Butterfly Project in 2006 at the San Diego Jewish Academy (SDJA). Jan had been inspired by the Holocaust poem “The Butterfly.” After World War 11, the butterfly became a symbol...
Historiography of ‘Atlantic Crossing’
A friend recommended the eight-part PBS Masterpiece series Atlantic Crossing written and directed by Norwegian film maker Alexander Eik.
The series favors our human attraction to the cult of monarchy, divine right power, and personal flamboyance that...
Movie Review: ‘Julia Scotti: Funny That Way’
When we first posted a review of this film documenting the life and career of comedian Julia Scotti, we felt that it was a positive article. I praised the film and endeavored to treat...
Survivors’ Son Wrestles with Their Unspoken Past
The greatest sources of Holocaust history are the testimonies of survivors through their memories, their writings, their memoirs, and documentary films. You won’t want to miss this beautifully constructed film entitled The Presence of Their...
Film Review: Holocaust Survivor on a Mission of Revenge
In the 2016 film Remember, streaming on Netflix, Christopher Plummer plays Zev Guttman, an Auschwitz concentration camp survivor who lost his family in World War II to a sadistic Blockführer known as Kurlander. Zev and his...
Documentary: Jewish Refugees Return To Fight Hitler
The 2020 documentary About Face: Jewish Refugees in the Armed Forces, streaming on Amazon, documents the thought-provoking WWII story of young Jewish men and women who escaped certain death at the hands of the Nazis. They...
Over 13 Audiences Should Catch ‘The Birdcatcher’
The Bird Catcher, a 2019 film streaming on Amazon Prime, begins in 1942 inside the bustling city of Trondheim, Norway. The movie centers around a young teenager named Esther (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina), the daughter of...
Aging Holocaust Survivors Form A Musical Band
I must start my review of Saul and Ruby’s Holocaust Survivor Band differently than other reviews I have written. If you want to put a smile on your face and say L’Chaim “to Life,” I urge...
Israeli short film ‘White Eye’ in the running for an Oscar
When Tomer Shushan had his bicycle stolen, the Israeli-born son of Moroccan Israeli immigrants went through a range of complicated emotions. Once he started the process of getting the bike back, he began to...
Unraveling the Truth of the Katyn Massacre
Piotr Szkopiakt, the director of the 2018 political thriller The Last Witness, streaming on Amazon Prime, provides a high-intensity political thriller based on true events. The film follows journalist Stephen Underwood (Alex Pettyfer) as he...