Le triomphe de l'esprit

Triumph of the Spirit is a film about people who have made choices in one of the most horrific situations--the Auschwitz death camp. Think of all the choices made by Salamo Arousch and those nearest to him. His sister Julie chooses to stay with her little girl rather than give the child over to her mother and thus get picked for the labour camp (somewhat curious that the SS officer doing the selection gave Julie the option of living). Avram refuses to join the Sonderkommando and is killed by the Nazis. Salamo chooses to box to keep his father alive a little while longer. Allegra chooses to believe her sister Helena who has chosen to make up a story about pregnancy. Jocko Levy has chosen to become a Kapo only to be tossed out by the Nazis when he is no longer healthy.

It was the magnitude of the choices that stunned me when I saw the film when it came out. The film presents us with an unrelenting series of situations and choices to be made. How would any of us have behaved if we had been in the same situation?

Triumph of the Spirit made me squirm because it showed me just how complex the Holocaust experience was for individuals who had to make life and death decisions. This is what lifts Triumph of the Spirit way above most other Holocaust films.

When Greece was invaded, its Jews were sent to Auschwitz. Among them was boxing champ Salamo(Dafoe, determined) and his family. When it is discovered that he can fight, he is put in the ring for the entertainment of the SS officers. This doesn't mean that they're safe, not even with him making a contact with a gypsy(Olmos) who is also granted a temporary "tolerance". Based on a true story.

This is among the most detailed, authentic and gripping pictures about its subject that I know of. The sheer volume of awful events, ways to be singled out and murdered and lies told by Nazis to avoid panic is impressive for being fit into the 1 hour 51 and a half minute running time. Production values are high. Acting is great for all concerned, with numerous subtle performances.

Going to great lengths to avoid being exploitative, this has few on-screen deaths, piles of dead and little naked skin. And yet, so much is communicated. Some recurring images convey far more than gore ever could. A reaction shot of conveys the horror inside the crematorium. And we know exactly what it means when we see the smoke from its chimney, or a train pulling in to, as my father solemnly put it as we watched it together, "the end of the line".

There is a lot of disturbing, and some bloody, content in this. I wholeheartedly recommend this to everyone old enough to handle the material. 7/10

Others have reviewed the movie very well with those who have praised it. I was very taken with Willem Dafoe's performance and to me, this may be his best role. Superb acting, tragic story. I was reminded of the movie when watching Clive Owen and Lothaire Bluteau in Bent, another view of the tragedies perpetrated by the Nazis against anyone not "pure".

Just finished seeing Triumph of the Spirit. What a sad, bleak, dark, and depressing film.

This was based on the true story of Greek Balkins Middleweight Champion Salamo Arouch who was undefeated before World War II. Once the Nazi army invades Greece, Arouch, his entire family, and all the Jews in Greece are shipped off to the Nazi death camp in Austwitz.

With-in moments, all the women in Arouch's family are murdered in the gas showers. He is forced with his family and brother to work at slave-labor. Arouch is brutalized by a camp Kapo who happens to be a professional boxer as well. In a brutal scene, Arouch and the Kapo have a fist fight with Arouch scoring a knockout and a Nazi camp guard finishes off the Kapo with a gun shot to the head. Arouch is then forced to box in the camp for the Nazi officers who bet on the "boxing" matches. Only problem, the losing boxer ends up the "chimney stack".

A heart-wrenching and brutal story. Shocking to realize that not only did the Nazi murder, torture, starve and kill the inmates at Auswitz, but they also forced all the professional Jewish boxers to put on "Galdiator" matches for their entertainment.

The Triumph of The Spirt is a triumph of film-making. A very depressing one at that.

Triumph of the Spirit takes an uncompromising view of the horrors of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp, dealing with the fate of Greek gypsies, and particularly a boxing Champion Salamo Arouch who fights to amuse the brutal Nazi Officers, enabling his father's and his own survival. He was allowed life while his losing opponents perished. Based on a true story, without doubt the most devastating film ever made on the topic of death camps, it is extremely realistic in its presentation having been filmed in the bleak winter of 1989 on location in Auschwitz, and that shows. It must have effected the cast and the crew extremely. Willem Defoe's performance proves the depth of feeling that was thus achieved, and this is reflected by the whole cast. Certainly not an easy film to watch, but it is rewarding and extremely moving to those who make the effort. Perhaps in some small way this film might prevent such evil being perpetrated on the world again. A remarkable achievement that predates and eclipses Schindler's List, yet sadly not widely shown.