Les derniers jours

An absolutely unforgettable documentary and one that should be seen by everyone. The Holocaust images and portrayals that are put forward on screen will remain with you forever and are at times equally emotionally devastating and inspiring. Truly a life-altering film experience. Recommended.

9/10

The Last Days (1998)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Haunting, depressing and hard to watch documentary from director James Moll has five Hungarian Jews talking about their time before, during and after being placed in concentration camps at the end of WWII as Hitler was in the last days of murdering as many people as he could. THE LAST DAYS picked up the Best Documentary Oscar and there's no question that it's a very powerful movie, perfectly put together to show the horrors of these camps. Through the interviews and archival footage, most people will probably want to avoid this film simply because of how graphic the photos are and there's no question that it's incredibly depressing. Yes, there's a bit a hope thrown in for the inspiration to survive but this really doesn't take away the haunting images that we're shown. There are several times throughout the film that the five people break down crying while telling their stories and it really makes you wonder what it would be like having to go through life with these graphic images constantly in your head. Seeing people shot, burned to death, melt down into skeletons and worse is just something that no one should have to go through life witnessing and then having to live with. Another interesting segment deals with the eventual rescue by the American troops. We get to see some interviews with those troops and hearing their stories of being shocked were also very heartbreaking. I thought director Moll did a terrific job at taking all the stories and editing them together just as if the story was being told by one person. THE LAST DAYS isn't an easy film to watch as some of the images are just horrible but for history buffs it's a must see.

As sad and shocking as these documentaries are, they must be made and watched. I am grateful these stories were recorded since we have less and less survivors left here with us. Never forget. Never let it happen again.

Update: Looking at the large number of thumbs down on previous positive comments is bizzare.

If you like history you must watch this. I know it's hard to watch but we want to know what happened in the past.

If you are looking for an eye opening documentary, you should try this one.

If you are interested on History, this is a must.

If you consider yourself a human being in all senses of the expression, you should definitely watch this documentary.

The holocaust should never be forgotten.