Les Chemins de la liberté

"Into the Arms of Strangers", directed by Mark Jonathan Harris, is a loving account of what parents resort to do in order to save their children from a tragedy that was looming over Europe. Having missed this film when it was first released, we caught up with it in the DVD format that has been lovingly transferred to that medium.

The story of the "Kindertransport" is recounted by some of the children that participated in it. We watch them as they are today, and through pictures, and sometimes on those old newsreels and films where they are captured as children in Germany, and the countries where the prosecution of Jews took an ugly turn.

Our heart goes to some of these older people that speak with such dignity in spite of what was done to them and their families. It's a tribute to the people who tell us what happened to them in the way they express their experiences without venom, or malice. After all, these persons showcased in the documentary are all survivors, something that thousands other Jewish children didn't have the same fate.

One can only imagine what these individuals went through at such an early life, many without being able to speak English, or made themselves understood in the households that received them. Imagine a child separated from loving parents having to deal with a world gone mad. It speaks volumes the people that tells us their stories turned out to be the way they did!

Dame Judy Dench's narration works well in the context of the material being shown. Mark Jonathan Harris has made a valuable contribution to show the whole world how a mad man changed these children's lives, and their parents' forever.

This film continues to haunt me. With such delicacy, honesty, and poignancy, the great tragic horror of the holocaust is brought home to us on a human scale from a child's vantage point. Each unique story is told with such quiet strength and dignity. It is not only what is said, but what is not said, that is so moving. It would have been so easy to over-sentimentalize or shock, yet this film navigates through the emotional landscape with compassion and sensitivity. The voices are wise, direct and articulate on the surface, but just below, there are complex layers of remembrance, guilt, shame, grief, rage, fear, loss, despair, sadness, faith, relief and hope.

The interweaving of the past and present, black and white and colour, child and adult, is crafted with great skill. The musical score is a perfect counterpoint to the unfolding drama. There is not one false note, not one. Everything is presented with a remarkable aesthetic and thoughtfulness.

No other holocaust documentary has had a greater impact on me. As a grownup 'child' and now as a mother, I will think about this film for a very long time to come.

"Into the Arms of Strangers" (2000): This is a documentary about parents who try to get their children OUT of the reach of Nazis (focusing on the "Kindertransport" system). Once in awhile a documentary comes along that is SO full of information you did not have, SO mesmerizing, and SO important to your understanding of the World, it is a must-see - for EVERYONE. Can you imagine what it is to send your children away…to…somewhere, not knowing what will become of them, and wondering if you shall EVER see one another again? Can you imagine being a young child, and as you're being put on a train for the escape, you scream to your parents (who are not going with you) that you must be adopted and they never did love you? Can you imagine being the child whose father, out of pure, illogical, last-second panic LOVE, pulled you back out of the moving train through the window, nearly killing you from the fall, and whose fates would then send you both to concentration camps? How would YOU and YOUR father DEAL with this, if you both "survived"? It uses excellent archival film (appears restored), beautiful scoring, artful editing, and lots of interviews (with surviving children and a few of their "foster parents"), make this an incredibly moving, horrific, inspiring experience. Really, you NEED to see "Into the Arms of Strangers".

I watched this movie the other night and found it most moving. I think it should be widely shown as very few people know of the Kindertransport. The documentary is well done and tells a wonderful story of survival. It was such a pity that no other country, other than England, helped to save these children. I highly recommend everyone to see it, as it is a part of our history.

This is a film that must be seen by your entire family. True, it's very disturbing, but it's one of the best films ever made about the horrors of war. Beautifully made, touching and moving, this is just a marvel. It should be shown every year on national television, to make sure that people never forget. Technically a marvel, there is not one thing wrong with this film, other than the fact that people haven't seen it.