The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler

Very watchable biopic portraying the true life story of Irena Sendler. Although obviously not made on the same budget as Schindler's List, it is still an amazing story of a truly courageous Polish woman. The acting is good overall and excellent by Anna Paquin as the lead. It is another example of how individual people walk into danger, when most people would hide away. If you Google "Life in a Jar" you will get more information on Irena Sendler's amazing life and how her story finally came into the public consciousness in 1999. Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. Recognized by Yad Vashem in 1965 and supported from the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous in New York City. A very life affirming story.

Amazing film about an amazing women who risked her life in order to save Jewish children of the holocaust. Watching a story like this makes you wonder, what you would do in her situation would you have the courage to act? Anna Paquin gives a great performance as Irena. Yes I recommend. James Welch Henderson Arkansas 4/12/21.

I knew very little about Irena Sendler before watching this movie. But after seeing it, I simply feel ashamed that we don't know more about the real heroes of the Second World War Although many already figured out, this is a true story about a young Polish woman's and fellow brave Warsaw citizens, passionately engaged in helping thousands of Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto during the German occupation of Poland. With such a powerful, dreadful story behind, it is really hard to make a movie that won't be touching, but The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler is much more than that. It start a bit slower, drawing the terrible conditions of Warsaw Ghetto, while we watch how the monstrous "Final Solution" for extermination of Jewish people taking its full strength. From the second half, movie is gaining on speed and intensity and really nail the watcher to the chair until the very end. The crew is very good, lead by wonderful Anna Paquin, who marvelously portrayed extremely courageous and bit dreamy Polish girl.

As one of the reviewers already said - this is not a typical Hallmarks movie, but certainly the great one. And I really recommend it for watching, if not more to the honor of braves such Irena Senler was.

A very fine holocaust film dealing with Irena Sendler's helping 2,500 Jewish children escape from the ghetto and face certain extermination.

The film is quite a change for Anna Paquin, who shows she can act unlike her 1993 totally undeserved supporting Oscar win for "The Piano."

This excellent film shall serve as an inspiration to us all. Unfortunately, we could not discover what happened to many of the children after the war. Unfortunately, their parents must have perished.

This is a film of great virtue, moral courage, the embodiment of a total triumph of the human spirit under such adversity.

Marcia Gay Harden, a terrific actress, has the role of the mother. Despite the fact that her part is generally understated, Harden displays that rare virtue of a parent caught up in what is right in such an era of horror.

Highly recommended.

Months after my dad taped this Hallmark Hall of Fame movie on DVD disc, I finally got to watch The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler with an aunt of mine today. This based on a true story account taking place during World War II of a young Polish woman's saving of thousands of Jewish children from the Gestapo is one of the most touching of such films I've yet seen. Anna Paquin brings warmth and compelling gravity to the title role and I'm not ashamed to admit that when Irena was being tortured by the Nazis, I nearly cried. In fact, I wish she had also gotten an Emmy nomination and not just Marcia Gay Harden as her mother, Janina Sendler, compelling as she was also. Also compelling were a couple of the children showcased: Sergei Novik-Marchenko as Jasio and Elea Hofland as Anna. And while Goran Visnjic as Stefan didn't have much time in his role, he still made a little impression in how his character loved Irena so when it was revealed in the end text that the two were eventually married, I was touched to know that he was indeed real! And then finding out Ms. Sendler was nominated for a Nobel prize while her real-life visual was shown made me so glad this movie was made after getting recognition when she eventually got found out by some high school students before her death in 2008. So if you go to a nearby Hallmark store and find a VHS or DVD of this movie, I highly recommend you watch The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler.