Wedle wyroków twoich...

I saw "Wedle wyrokow twoich" (According to your judgements) on Polish TV and was attracted to it by many famous names of people who participated in its creation. And it included not only Polish names but also Jewish writers Artur Brauner and Paul Hennge and the German actor Mathieu Carriere, whom I remembered from the fine adaptation of Hans Fallada's bestseller "Ein Mann will nach oben". The plot is about the ordeal of the young Jewish girl Ruth (Sharon Brauner), and is loosely based on the memoirs of the writer and producer Artur Brauner (born in Lodz), who survived Holocaust. The film is well done, fast paced and with good acting, so I was gripped by its many dramatic scenes. But it is not as good as the best Holocaust movies from the 1980s, like "Sophie's Choice" or "Triumph of the Spirit". " According to your judgements" does not have the psychological depth of the mentioned-before masterpieces, and its characters are too conventional and a bit one-dimensional. The reason may be that director Jerzy Hoffman specialized more in action-packed blockbusters than psychological dramas. Nevertheless, it's a good movie. To me, the most remarkable thing about " According to your judgements" is how and when it was made. It was created at the time when the Iron Curtain still separated Europe and by the international Polish/Jewish/German team of people. So even then it was possible to get together and produce a good movie.