Hiver 42: Au nom des enfants

I caught this unknown film on Polish television last night and was blown away. The following day as I write this I'm still haunted about some of the scenes towards the end.

With an excellent blend of Polish and international actors and actresses, this tale of the loss of childhood innocence during WW2 is as powerful and memorable as Schindler's List or the Pianist, and is certainly not for young children.

While Osmont's performance is great, it is Liam Hess as the young Tola who steals the film, a true innocent who longs to understand what it was like to be Jesus, an amazing characterisation by such a young boy.

There are moments of lovely humour in the film as you'd expect watching the innocent/stupid/naive things kids do, but the last thirty minutes are quite shocking and emotionally draining.

Congratulations to writer/director Yurek Bogayevicz and all involved, for a powerful piece of filmmaking.

This film is about a Jewish boy being sent to live with a catholic family during the Holocaust.

Normally, a film about a boy suffering in the Holocaust should be a sure tear jerker that touches people right to the core. An example is the Oscar winning "Life Is Beautiful", which to me is still the best film of all time.

However, "Edges of the Lord" is a rare example of a failed Holocaust film. It documents the mischiefs of a group of children that is only weakly related to the Holocaust, that they who could have been anyone in any place. The story is not engaging, and lacks emotional portrayal either, as it keeps going on and on about rather unusual acts between the children. Seriously, how could a teenage girl invite a young boy into a room for an hour and then want the other boys to stone her? Or a young boy running naked in the rain? The plot is weak to start with, and spirals out of control into unforgivable chaos that is beyond redemption.

The deadliest weak point though, is the accent. It is understandable that the director wants to make the film "authentic", but if so, why not make the film in Polish or in German? It would have been even more authentic, and easy on the ears. The resultant fake Polish accent in "Edges of the Lord" is a strange chimera that is very unpleasant on the ears.

The only strong point I can think of is the strong acting by Liam Hess. "Edges of the Lord" is still a big disappointment.

I rented this film because I am a fan of Osmet. I was surprised by the performances of almost all the child actors in this film. Liam Hess stole the show. I would have rated this film higher, but the story seemed to meander with no real point at times. The film is very dark and somber throughout but what would you expect from a "holocost" film. The central story is about two boys (one jew and one catholic) who end up living together and experiencing some of the atrocities perpetrated on the jews during WWII by the Germans. The Catholic boy (Liam Hess), who is receiving teachings from the local priest before his first communion decides to mimic the life of Jesus (for what reason I'm not sure) and draws all the other local children into his game. As the film progresses, the story becomes more serious and the Tolo's "games" become more realistic.

I picked up this movie from a video store, not having heard about it before, and watched it on a vacation. I was completely surprised; this is one of the better movies I've seen. It's very moving in all aspects, with wonderful characterization-- characters one loves, and characters one hates. Dafoe and Osment pull of the thick Polish accents very well; so well that it might be a good idea to turn the subtitles on while watching the movie. Without giving any spoilers, I shall say that the plot, though profound, touching, and horrific, is not dramatic just to be dramatic. Every part of the plot, whether it was violent or humorous, religious or sexual, served its purpose in a believable way. I recommend this movie highly, though not for younger children; the R rating it received is fitting, as the movie, though not nearly as violent or sexual as some others, deals with those two themes in a disturbingly haunting manner.

I consider this film to be the best one with Haley J. Osment. I must admit that first I watched it only because HJO was starring in it (and because the film was shot in my country, ie Poland). Not only does Haley play wonderfully, but also the film itself is very good, mixing the times of WWII with the fragile construction of children's psyche. The film was made in Poland, so it was very nice to see Haley playing in Polish landscapes. I must say I am very surprised that the film was not yet released in the US. In Poland it was shown in cinemas in 2001. In January 2003 the film was released on DVD. A few weeks ago (November 2003) the movie was on TV so it had really wide audience. I don't understand why such a good movie was not released in the US !! If you want, you can write to me: (make sure it's o2, and not 02).