Movies to Watch on Holocaust Rememberance Day, Or Easter (if you're into that)

      This Sunday is not only Easter; it is also Holocaust Remembrance Day.  You probably didn't know that.  That's because you're ignorant, and you ought to be ashamed of yourself.
     I'm just kidding.  I actually didn't know that either, until I looked on a calendar and decided to make this entry.
     So if you're estranged from your family and have nothing to do on Easter, or you're letting your kids collect their own eggs in the park- possibly leaving them at risk to find a dead body instead - here are three movies you can watch that can help you remember the Holocaust for what it was - awful.  I'm not saying these are the best of all the Holocaust film genre, but they are all well done in their own right.  That said, all of these films will most certainly leave you feeling as empty as our Lord's tomb.

1. Downfall (Der Untergang)

  
     No other interpretation of Hitler on film has ever been as unnerving as that of Bruno Ganz in Downfall, a film I was fortunate enough to come across years ago.  Few films devote as much time and insight to the Nazi monster as this film does, which follows the last days of Adolf Hitler in his bunker with his officials, advisers, and friends slowly losing faith in him and his weakening army.  Ganz's performance is incredibly passionate, convincing, and genuine, and nearly brings us to the brink of sympathy for the fascist leader as his mental and physical state begins to completely derail.  This is a feat in of itself.  Why this is not a much more recognized film is beyond me; perhaps because the plight of the Jewish people in the ghetto and the camps, not the plight of the madman who put them there, sells a lot better.

2. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

 

     Question: what is the worst type of Holocaust movie?  Answer: the one with children in it.  This film is nothing overly-special as far as acting, cinematography, or score, but it tugs at the heart-strings of anyone who has a soul.  The story engulfs both sides of the barbed-wire fence: that of Bruno, a young wealthy boy whose father is an SS officer, and a new friend he's made, Schmuel, who wears "funny striped pajamas" and lives inside of a concentration camp with his Jewish family.  This film is full of adult themes, which are then told and interpreted through the eyes of two children, making them that much more poignant, and in some cases, disgusting and horrifying.  Prepare for literally one of the most depressing movies you will ever see.

3. The Pianist

 

     Adrien Brody will never hear the end of that kiss he gave Halle Berry for the Oscar he won from this role, but I suppose it was all worth it.  His role, and this movie, is based on the true story of a Polish/Jewish musician named Wladyslaw Szpilman, who escaped Nazi persecution and the destruction of the infamous Warsaw ghetto.  The Pianist is full of juxtaposition - villains and heroes (on both sides), beauty and violence, war and peace; the music of the film carries it strongly through each of these phases.  These contrasts bring out the gritty reality, horror, and devastation that the Holocaust and World War II in general had on one individual's life.  I'm going to go ahead and prove that point by making everyone's stomach churn who has seen this film when I say one word: wheelchair. 

     So when you're devouring Cadbury eggs and taking pictures with bunnies and all that other Easter crap that you do, don't forget to reflect on a dark corner of history - with film, or without it.

(image sources - politics.co.uk/wondersinthedark.wordpress.com/myremoteradio.com)