Sobibor

Powerful and underrated. This film will stay with me a long time, along with the true story it depicts.

Is it possible to "enjoy" a film of this type? I would argue "no", but this film succeeded in keeping me gripped and on the edge of my seat. It made me emotional and left me stunned at times. It left me yelling at the screen. I was very engaged and invested in the plight of those in Sobibor.

There are some really tough scenes here (as would be expected). Some scenes work better than others. The film was suffocating in its grittiness and overwhelming grief. Numerous nationalities are depicted here (of which I am none), so I'll leave that up to their respective people as to how accurate or authentic they are portrayed.

It wasn't until later that I discovered Konstantin Khabensky (who plays Sasha) co-wrote and directed the film too. I'm impressed. His performance itself was very moving.

This is the type of film that gets you reading the true story after. I have since been touched to learn more about the likes of Alexander 'Sasha' Pechersky, Stanislaw Szmajzner and other heroes.

The final scene gives you just enough time to absorb the events at Sobibor and to reflect on what happened during the Holocaust. Powerful stuff.

Its a documentary more then a movie for me, not the way its filmed but i can't watch this as entertainment, because its a difficult movie to watch and its unbelievable what these people had to go through at the hands of the Nazi's Worth watching as a rememberance to all the fallen and the survivors.

Holocaust is a very difficult subject to talk, far more difficult when it comes to the movies, because movies such as Schindler's List, The Pianist, Life is Beautiful and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas have already set a high standards for the genre. "Sobibor" though a valiant attempt by director Konstantin Khabenskiy, to tell the tale of the only breakout from a concentration camp in the nazi occupied Poland, falters in many places.

The biggest problem of "Sobibor" is its character introduction, I believe it lacked detail and was pretty rushed, and it failed miserably in connecting to the minds of audiences. Cinematography was very good, along with production design, make up, costumes and music were par. Casting was a big let down. Acting barring a few scenes, was very average overall, not fitting to a movie of Holocaust genre. But it wasn't bad either. Editing could have been a little better, consider the material they had and the final cut. The usage of multiple languages in movie was rather confusing.

Overall, a good one time watch for audiences sans any expectations. "Sobibor" does has some really good & touching scenes, but has far too many flaws in its screenplay & dubbing. While it may not impress audiences who have watched all "great" Holocaust movies, it would be a good watch to young tech savvy audiences. Though there is nothing impressive in the movie apart from a few scenes, it's a "bit different" in comparison to the Holocaust movies of the past.

Sobibor is based on the real-life events that took place in 1943 German Occupied Poland. It's the story of Soviet Lieutenant and POW Alexander "Sasha" Pechersky (Konstantin Khabensky) who planned and executed the first successful escape from a German Nazi Extermination camp during WW-II. It was the official submission from Russia for 91st Academy Awards.

In 1943, a train arrives at Sobibor Camp with Jewish prisoners with an announcement "Welcome to Sobibor. Welcome to your new lives. This is your new home." None of them was aware that how horrible their lives are going to be there soon.

From the very opening scene of the film, we are served with the horrors of the extermination camp. A group of undressed women was killed in a gas chamber and the insane General watch them till every single woman dies. That's just the starting, and actor-director Khabensky never hesitated to show the gruesome life inside the camp. Most of the film focuses on showing brutal methods used to torture the prisoners. A detailed overview of the camp and it's daily activities was presented to the viewers. It's not easy to watch all these scenes but yet they are true.

The characters are well developed and introduced one by one to viewers before the finale can take place. Later in the film, each one of them contributes in one way or another in the escape plan. Every actor has given a believable performance. Cinematography by Ramunas Greiciusis is nice. The story is a little bit slow and flawed. In my opinion, the planning part should have been elaborated a little bit more.

Sobibor isn't a perfect war drama film. It has some flaws but it definitely documented a detailed overview of the conditions of prisoners from mental as well as physical perspective. It shows us the reason why Jews never dared or planned any revolt. All this makes it a powerful and well-crafted film and one must watch it to salute the heroism and courage shown by those people.

Second time watching this movie. I HATE what people do and have done to other people. Movies like Sobibor and also Defiance should be shown in schools so young people see what happened and hopefully (is it too much to hope for?) never let such atrocities happen again.