Nicky's Family (2011) is a Slovak/Czech documentary. It was co-written and directed by Matej Minac.
The film describes the incredible feats of Sir Nicholas George Winston, dubbed "The English Schindler." Sir Nicholas quietly--and effectively--was able to bring 669 children out of Czechoslovakia and into England after the Germans had occupied their country.
That's a remarkable story, well presented with some simulated scenes, some photos, and interviews with some of the people who were rescued.
The other remarkable part of the story is that no one knew what Sir Nicholas had accomplished until 1988--almost 50 years after the event took place. People only found out about his heroic work when his wife happened upon a scrapbook he had kept.
It's fascinating that, once war started and no children could be rescued, Sir Nicholas put the whole enterprise behind him. He didn't identify himself to the children he had saved. He didn't even tell his wife. This may not be totally accurate. He had mentioned what he had done when he ran for local office. (From Wikipedia.) However, the scrapbook and the BBC are what gave him international recognition.
Director Minac made a decision about the last part of the film with which I don't completely agree. He shows us that many people have been inspired to do charity work because of Winston's example. My thought is that this feel-good part of the documentary doesn't answer the questions I have about the man himself. Why didn't he follow up his work and stay connected with the children he had saved? What happened in his life between the end of the rescue operation and public fame in 1988? And, most importantly, why did he do what he did in 1938-39? Sir Winston died in 2015. We almost certainly will never know the answer to the last question.
We saw this film on the small screen, where it worked very well. It's a fascinating story, and the movie is definitely worth seeking out and watching.
