For the past week I have been watching Claude Lanzmann's 1985 documentary
Shoah. I've had to view it a little at a time; it's too overwhelming to do anything else. I'm on part 3 of 4, and feel emotionally raw. In 2010,
Roger Ebert said:
"For more than nine hours I sat and watched a film named "Shoah," and when it was over, I sat for a while longer and simply stared into space, trying to understand my emotions. I had seen a memory of the most debased chapter in human history. But I had also seen a film that affirmed life so passionately that I did not know where to turn with my confused feelings. There is no proper response to this film. It is an enormous fact, a 550-minute howl of pain and anger in the face of genocide. It is one of the noblest films ever made."
Don't bother making popcorn for this movie. You won't eat it. God help us all.
If you haven't seen this documentary, you must. YOU MUST.
ReplyDeleteThere are no words. I've never been so stunned and horrified. I thought I knew the story; I did not.
It's not available on Canadian Netflix. I'll have a search to see if it's available on line anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteFay, I'm watching it on Amazon video. They have the Documentary Channel, which is a paid subscription (it's like 7-8 bucks a month, pfft).
DeleteI just checked. It's called "SundanceNow Doc Club".
DeleteThanks lr, I signed up for SundanceNow Doc Club.
ReplyDelete5.99 per month if you sign up for a year. In C$ that's $25 a month LOL!
ReplyDeleteShoah is the most intense film I ever saw. Some years ago Israeli TV aired it around Yom Hashoah, but in installments. As you say, it's almost too hard to watch. I forced myself to watch it all, and though I know a lot about the period and the experiences from my family, still, hearing and seeing... too dreadful to describe.
ReplyDeleteHi Anne! Yes, it's dreadful. And haunting.
DeleteVery haunting.
What annie said is how it was for me as well. I got the documentary series from Netflix, IIRC. It's very upsetting but I think it should be watched; I'll never forget the segments with Simon Srebrnik. I think Lanzmann handled Poland's involvement with the Nazis in the right manner. There are several films and undoubtedly hundreds of books dealing with Poles (and other ethnic groups) who helped the Jews during WWII. That's now what Lanzmann's film was about and I think the criticism of it for that reason is unfounded and defensive.
ReplyDeletenow=not
DeleteYes, his interviews with Polish townspeople were, in many cases, repulsive. To hear the raw, unvarnished truth about the way they felt, even years after the war...no words. Some of those people made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
DeleteYou can watch Shoah here on your tablet or laptop. Just search for the title, this is a great site for films.
ReplyDeleteThank you dear florrie.
DeleteYou bet, lady red! I watch allot of older movies (and new too, they have ALL the Oscar-nominated films for last year) and there are absolutely no spammer/virus issues whatsoever.
DeleteJust watched Part 1. Shattering.
ReplyDeleteI finally finished yesterday. The faces and voices keep appearing over and over in my head, even when I'm sleeping.
DeleteWhat is seen cannot be unseen, what is heard cannot be unheard.