O Tatuador de Auschwitz

I don't think that I have watched anything that moved me so much. The horrors of the camp were so well portrayed. At times it was overwhelming but the excellent way in which the series was produced as well as the quality of the acting made me keep watching. I could not stop. The story was ultimately one of love and hope in the absolute darkest of times. Everyone should watch it to see the depths of human nature but also the goodness that can survive in spite of that. It is productions like this one that need to be seen by everyone to prevent this ever happening again. Well done to everyone involved.

My main reason for this post is to correct all the ill-informed posters who have critisised Melanies portrayal of Heather Morris in this series. Author Heather Morris is a New Zealander, AS IS Melanie Lynskey!!!! Melanie used her native NZ accent, and it was accurate to a tee. She was never meant to be a British woman as so many seem to think. Lali resided in Melbourne, Australia and was interviewed by a New Zealand woman with a New Zealand accent. Okay, having explained all that, my Jewish wife and I were very disturbed by series despite having been totally familiar with the history of the appalling conditions and treatment in the camps. I did think that it was impossible to obtain actors and extras who could ever look as emaciated as the actual victims, but the message came across as strongly as intended. I do agree with others that young Lali did look and sound as if he had just graduated from Oxford University and would have benefited with an attempt at a Polish accent as all other parts were spoken with the various European accents. All in all, a valiant attempt at a forever difficult subject.

I cannot understand people who downvote this because Melanie Lynskey's Australian accent is bad. Really? That's what you are concentrating on? Wooden acting? Do you expect people in that situation to be exuberant?

In a time when young people get their historical "knowledge" from TikTok and Facebook, it is very important that these events are not forgotten. It may not change the attitude of die-heart holocaust deniers but may inform some people who are on the fence.

Holocaust deniers and their supporters on X have to be counteracted with these first-hand accounts. Of course it is not a documentary but partially fictionalized but that is ok.

Having seen one of these tattoos myself, this is an excellent series that is especially needed with the rise in antisemitism.

As i write the current rating here is 6.9, i should expect that to rise over the coming weeks as more and more discover this gem of a series. It is, as one would expect, a tough watch. I felt sad, sick and angry whilst viewing this. A powerful subject that has been covered many times over the years and i would say this series is up amongst the best films/series covering the holocaust. Outstanding acting from all the main characters coupled with the bleak scenery befitting the storyline, this is a 'must see' series. Be prepared to shed some tears. Be prepared to be ashamed of some of the human race, and be prepared to witness the power of love.

This is a fine series recounting the horrors of the nazi death camp, auschwitz. The story is told by Lali Sokolov, played in old age by Harvey Keitel who is recounting his story to budding Australian writer Heather Morris played by Melanie Lynskey.

It tells us how Lali became the Auschwitz tatooist which means he tatoo's the prison number on the arm of all new arrivals. In doing this he meets Gita, Anna Prochniak, and they immediately bond so he then seeks her out in the femail quarters where their relationship develops.

As the tatooist has relative freedom in the camp, with even his own room, an SS officer, Stefan Baretski played by Jonas Nay is appointed to supervise him. This, for me, was one of the most fascinating aspects of the story. A strange relationship develops between captive and captor. While Baretski demonstrates his evil side with violence and killing, including beating Lali occasionally, he is clearly not a happy soldier and uses Lali as an emotional crutch. To show a slightly more humane side to his character he often enables private meetings for Lali with Gita.

While auschwitz is shown as an evil place with frequent views of the gas chambers and incinerators, I still think that life for the average prisoner was much worse than portrayed here.

However this is a disturbing and also moving watch which I highly recommend.

In an era when 'Nazi' and 'Fascist' is frequently used to tarnish people for simply having a different opinion, often by people who should know better, this serves as a reminder of what Nazism and Fascism really is.