La tregua

"The Truce" chronicles the homeward bound odyssey of an Auschwicz survivor - Primo played by Turturro - in the chaos immediately following the fall of the Third Reich. Although Primo, an Italian Jew, is the central character, the camera spends more time on the people, places, and vicissitudes which he encounters on his journey from Krakow to Turin. This beautifully shot, somber film with an abundance of extras and a minimal core cast has no specific focus. The interest in this film is in the story and the story is in the telling. A very worthy cinematic endeavor.

The movie which held great promise seemed to stop short of coherency. The dialog was hard to understand and the characters never really were fully developed. Some things should be left alone as books. This was one of them.

The broad scope of the book could not be shown and the internal thought processes simply did not make the transition.

"The Truce" is unlike any other Holocaust film I've ever seen in at least two respects. First, it is focused on the return to their homes via the Soviet Union of a group of survivors from Auschwitz. Second, the events are distilled through the eyes of a particular victim, Primo Levi, an Italian chemist and disbelieving Jew, who recorded his experiences in an autobiographical memoir, "The Reawakening," transformed into a film by the Italian director, Francesco Rosi. Levi himself is portrayed by John Turturro, the only name likely to be recognized by an American audience. Turturro is a skilled actor and his performance is marked by emotional restraint. There are some telling scenes in the movie (and improbable coincidences relating to reappearance of characters who had previously departed the scene for destinations unknown). What holds the film together and makes it worth seeing is Levi's sensibility and occasional direct quotes: e.g., "In a world where there is Auschwitz, there is no God." This is not a great movie but it is very good.

Just saw it, think it was great. Had no problems understanding the english at all. Kinda slow but I think that's the only way to make a movie like this, especially when it's a true story .. Nice to see a slow movie sometimes, most movies of today are to hectic. Good movie, absolutely worth while seeing.

This movie is based on the true events that took place in one of the most renowned Auschwitz prisoners Primo Levi. More specifically, it is the last book of his experiences, whereby this book starts at the moment that Auschwitz is liberated, i.e. As end of january 1945. It describes his experiences he had during his travels in the soviet liberated part of the former Nazi empire.

Note: for the people that have never heard of "Is this a Man" - which describes his experiences in Auschwitz - one of the most impressive books that I have ever read.

With great acting and stunning scenes it is an altogether convincing image of how the situation may have been in the period up to the end of the war. It does not show the continuous women abuse that was ongoing during those times, but it shows that hunger and food were a day to day battle.

Overall, this movie deserves a score of 7.4 / 10, resulting in a very well earnt 7 star IMDb rating. I am personally surprised by the fact that this movie is not more known.