Insurreição

On the night the Emmys awarded "Anne Frank" the best miniseries of 2000-2001, NBC began airing yet another WWII-era epic which has to be the odds-on favorite for the trophy next year. This is as fine a miniseries as I have ever seen. David Schwimmer, Leelee Sobieski and Hank Azaria are all highly believable in their roles as Jewish resistance fighters. Donald Sutherland and Jon Voight turn in fine performances in lesser roles. And director Jon Avnet delivers a compact, credible piece of little-known history regarding the Warsaw ghetto uprising. For a small screen effort, one has to be amazed at how closely the style resembles that of big screen efforts like "Saving Private Ryan" and "Schindler's List". All in all, a well-done miniseries that deserves a second viewing. How often can one say that about any miniseries.

WWII, and the Holocaust in particular, is a very interesting subject. There has probably never been more interest from the public towards everything that concerns this war, which started already more than 65 years ago. Every week new books, documentaries,... are published with new theories, with evaluations of some important (often Nazi) personalities, with information about the concentration camps,... Because most of the survivors have already died or will die soon, the stories of the last eye-witnesses will get lost if not registered on tape or camera. But all these stories are also a good base for movies and mini-series like this "Uprising".

"Uprising" tells the story of the Nazi oppression of the Jews in the Ghetto of Warshaw and their rebellion against it, which started in 1943. It all begins in 1939 with the growing list of prohibitions and regulations leading to the virtual imprisonment of about half-a-million Polish Jews in an old district of Warsaw. Their daily struggle against hunger and disease is made even worse when the Nazis demand for "deportations to the east". Many begin to suspect that the deportation of these groups of laborers are actually camouflaged mass murders and at the end of 1942 they start to realize that they are all doomed. They decide that, if they have to die, they better die in honor by taking up the arms against their oppressors. They start building hidden shelters and bunkers in the basements and cellars of the buildings, often with tunnels leading to other buildings and start collecting arms and ammunition for the battle which will begin on 19 April 1943...

Even though I must say that overall I liked the series, I can't say that it was always very convincing. There were a couple too many problems with it that really bothered me. One for instance is the way all the people are depicted. The heroic Jews don't have to expect any help from the arrogant and anti-semitic Polish Catholics who know exactly what is going on, but don't care. The Poles only want to help when offered enormous amounts of money and even then are very reluctant. In reality the Poles also suffered a lot under the German oppression and without their help there would probably never have been a Jewish Uprising. And no, I'm not a Pole myself, so I'm not saying this to justify my people's actions, it's just the way it was.

Another thing that I really didn't like was the use of the languages. The Germans speak English most of the time, except for when they are giving some short orders, than you'll hear them talk German. The producers and director have to make a choice, either they all speak German or English, but not a mix of the two. And about the language I also have another remark. Can someone please tell me why those purely American actors, who all know how to speak normal English, speak with that funny, but also incredibly annoying accent? Do they really believe I will not recognize Leelee Sobieski, David Schwimmer,... when they talk in a slightly different way? I'm not asking that they speak Polish, I'm sure they can't, but don't make a fool out of yourself by trying to convince people that you are talking another language, just by adding such an accent, it can never work...

Still, even though the series isn't always historically accurate, uses a range of annoying accents and is too stereotypical when it comes to the roles of the different people, not everything about it was that bad. The acting for instance is good. In my opinion this was the best role I've ever seen Leelee Sobieski play and all the other actors did a nice job too. I certainly liked Jon Voight as Major General Jurgen Stroop, but it is Cary Elwes, who played Fritz Hippler (the director of "Der Ewige Jude" or "The Eternal Jew"), who certainly deserves to be mentioned as well.

All in all this isn't a bad series. If you try to see it as a drama based on actual events, rather than to see it as a 'documentary reconstruction', than you certainly should be able to enjoy it. There are some nice action scenes, some good acting and other interesting features. You just will have to try to see past some major flaws... I give this series a score between 7/10 and 7.5/10.

In 1939, after the invasion of Poland, Reinhard Heydrich chief of Gestapo began to place all Polish Jews in ghettos, where they could slowly die of hunger and disease. The campaign was to be administered by the Waffen-SS the party's military formations that fought as integral units in the armed forces. The Warsaw ghetto was the largest of these segregated areas established by the Nazis in Poland. In 1940 Heydrich, using the excuse that the spread of typhus had to be contained, set up a special section 11 miles in circumference enclosed by a brick wall 10 feet high . The cost was paid by the Judenrat (whose leader named Adam Czerniakow is perfectly played by Donald Sutherland) , the Jewish Council of twenty-four-members, which was in charge of Jewish affairs inside the ghetto . The daily struggle against hunger and disease is aggravated by the German demands for "deportations to the east" that many begin to suspect are camouflaged mass murders . Later on , there takes place the upheaval by a handful of fighters .

This is an emotionally tale and very decent drama about a group of Jews from uprising until terrible ending in the Warsaw ghetto . Jon Avnet correctly directs a spellbinding portrait about the holocaust with intense drama , action and spectacular as well as sad scenes . A splendid all-star-cast gives magnificent acting in real-life characters such as Leelee Sobieski as Tosia Altman , David Schwimmer as Yitzhak Zuckerman , Stephen Moyer as Kazik Rotem, Sadie Frost as Zivia Lubetkin , Radha Mitchell as Mira Fruchner , Mili Avital as Deworah Baron and special mention to Hanz Azaria who is excellent in a complicate and suffering role . An of course , we can not forget the great John Voight as Major-General Jurgen Stroop who carried out the brutal repression . Emotive as well as sensitive musical score by the classical Maurice Jarre . Impressive and adequate production by the Spanish Benjamin Fernandez who previously had designed ¨The others¨ and ¨Daylight¨ . Evocative and atmospheric cinematography by cameraman Denis Lenoir .

Adding more details over largely described on the movie regarding 'the Warsaw ghetto uprising', the events happened on the following manner : From 300 to 400 died daily in the Warsaw trap. More than 43.000 starved to death during the first year. Children crazed by hunger crawled through the sewers to the non-Jewish sectors of the city to smuggle in a bit of food. People were no longer moved by the sight of men and women falling dead on the streets. The Nazi authorities began intensified measure on July 22, 1942. As a memorial to Heydrich, Heirich Himmler ordered all Jews except those already in concentration camps to be deported .The ghetto and all labor camps would then be destroyed. Mass deportations to the gas chambers of Treblinka began. In two months 300.000 Jews were eliminated. The Judenrat was ordered to deliver 6.000 Jews daily for deportation. Each day thousands were driven by guards through the gates.Young Zionists, pioneers training to go to Palestine, mobilized first to be followed by members of the Polish workers party . On July 28, 1942, the Jewish Combat organization consisting about 1.000 men and boys was formed. All resolved to kill as many of their tormentors as they could before they died.The Jews fighting from rooftops, cellars, and attics,Poles outside the ghetto now began to send in more revolvers, grenades, and dynamite. In 1943 the guerrillas divided into twenty-two groups built an intricate network underground cellars and tunnels ,linked with command posts . In April 19,1943 German troops moved in on the ghetto to send all who were left to Treblinka in a final action. First came the armed trucks, tanks, and armored cars. The ghetto fighters poured a hail of bullets, grenades and bombs, the fighting went on for twenty-eight days. The guerrillas fought to the last . Many committed suicide at the moment before capture. The Germans dragged survivors from the cellars and rubble. Fewer than 100 escaped, the last 60000 Jews had been exterminated or killed in the explosions and fires.Polish sources reported that the fighters had killed 300 Germans and wounded 1000. From Warsaw Jewish resistance moved to swamps and forests .

I saw this film in Australia with a relative who survived the Ghetto uprising. He said that, in spite of some inconsistencies, it was as accurate as film could portray it. While it is true that there was more than one resistance faction, and sometimes they were at odds, the essence of the event is portrayed well. The Polish Resistance's attitude was mixed, but my relative, who was a courier in and out of the Ghetto said that many individual Poles risked their lives to hide him. The woman who escaped with the baby at the end of the film is also related to me. Her husband, who was killed in the first days of the uprising, was a major planner and organizer. Of course, it affected me greatly since my mother originally came from Warsaw and I lost many relatives.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Uprising despite its obvious flaws. A good story is told how Warsaw Jews defy the Natzis, but it is all too simplistic and frought with inaccuracies. All the Jews are young and handsome while Poles are plain looking middle aged people with tattered clothing ,unwashed,and with bad teeth. They also are all indiifferent to the plight of the Jews , and will only help if given money or threatened by the courageous and noble Jews. Poles on thother hand are just voka swilling mercenaries. In truth the Warsaw Ghetto uprising could never got off the ground without the assisrance of the Polish underground. Nowhere in this movie are Poles given credit for their contributions to this effort. Like the Jews they too were victims of the Natzi atrocities, but you'd never know that from wathing this film. Uprising is a great story with some serious deficiencies. A more balnced portrayal of the plight of Polish Jews , and Polish Catholics would have really educated the public about this moment in history. Unfortunately this did not happen.