Shanghai Ghetto

This was an incredible documentary. I was not aware of this part of Jewish History. This was such an interesting story, and so well done. It is emotional at parts and extremley strong. The only thing wrong with this movie is its not long enough. I left wanting to see and know more.

This film held my attention. It was very well done; the still photo's and moving pictures were well integrated with the narratives. This was a part of the "holocost" I was not famiiar with and as a result I did not feel that I had seen this before.

"Shanghai Ghetto" might sound boring at first glance: it is a ninety minute documentary.

But this film is so heavily emotional, it is so chilling and thought provoking, that it makes "Schindler's List" seem trivial.

The story is told simply enough. Narration is used when needed, but the majority of the movie is told by the very people who were there, the very Jews who escaped Hitler's tyranny by fleeing to Shanghai.

The survivors of the Shanghai Ghetto are all remarkable. They are excellent story tellers and they are able to give the audience a lot of details. The movie also does an excellent job of providing relevant visuals as they speak, so that what you hear you also see.

The thing that makes this film stand out above other Holocaust films is the combination of historical footage and eyewitness accounts. "Schindler's List" was an amazing film, but the viewer could still remain blissfully detached because we never heard an eyewitness account. But in "Shanghai Ghetto," the eyewitness testimonials give you no choice but to be personally involved.

I walked out of this film feeling overcome with emotion. In the car on the way home, I made myself promise to never allow a crime like the Holocaust to be perpetrated on humanity again. It is quite rare that I feel this emotional after seeing a movie, but "Shanghai Ghetto" is simply amazing.

The stories of the interviewees were rather banal. (I guess we are too much exposed to a similar kind of testimony films nowadays.) But, more problematic is that the life of Shanghai natives at the time was too lightly handled. The Jews who had been better off moved to Shanghai, and now they talk about the hardship they had to go through there. But to me it seemed that their life was lot better than that of the Chinese who were under Japanese occupation and persecution. Those interviewees all left Shanghai after the war, and lived well off (maybe still worse than they used to in Europe, but). I didn't see why their personal stories are that important in that specific context. If there were more about culturally specific difficulties (of being in Shanghai on the other side of the world) rather than just complaints about heat and hygiene, I would be more appreciative about the film.

Being a Chinese this documentary moved me in many different ways. The Jewish refugees who were interviewed in this movie viewed the hardship they experienced in the Shanghai Ghetto as positive in general. Even though they were often sick from various diseases because living conditions were poor, and they were often hungry. They appreciated the Chinese spirit, their work ethics, and their ability to survive under the harsh Japanese occupation during the war. Most of all they were grateful to have been able to live in China and were spared the death camps many of their family members were not able to escape. This movie is a testament of the triumph of human spirit over the horrendous adverse conditions and oppression they endured during that turbulent period. All high schools/colleges should show this very well made movie to their students because they can learn so much from watching it. I am so glad I did.