On Tuesday, September 28th, I took in A Film Unfinished, a compilation of found archival footage documenting the conditions of the Warsaw Ghetto during the second world war. I've seen several films that deal with the subject of the Holocaust. I've seen the images of emaciated bodies being dropped into mass graves, read survivor journals and the Diary of Anne Frank. I even wrote my undergraduate thesis on the Holocaust writing of women. While each piece of literature, each interview, each documentary offers additional insight into this dark period, A Film Unfinished provides a unique and deeply interesting entry in the library of Holocaust study.Filmed in the months leading up to the relocation of Ghetto residents to Treblinka, A Film Unfinished juxtaposes haunting images of starvation, suffering and death against the carefully orchestrated scenes shot by Nazi propagandists. These staged scenes, shown from different angles through multiple takes, paint a bizarre and painful picture of life inside the Ghetto. Interspersed with archival film footage, journal entries, official reports and trial transcripts, the film also captures the memories and reactions of childhood survivors as real and fraudulent scenes play across the screen.
Journal entries made by Adam Czerniakow -- head of the Warsaw Judenrat -- outline details of the filming, narrating many of the images found in the four reels, lending credence to the verdict that these images were indeed manufactured. Elaborately-staged dinner parties, nights at the theatre and traditional Jewish rituals, including an infant's briss, are directed by members of the SS and preserved in cellulose by hired cameramen.No one knows the intended purpose of the film, but there are those who speculate it was shot to reinforce the Nazi belief that what they were doing was justified -- that the alien Jewish traditions were reasons to fear and hate the people as a whole. The film depicts apparently wealthy Jews turning a blind eye to those in need; women in fine clothing scoff at begging children while well-heeled businessmen step over decaying corpses lying discarded in the streets.
Anyone with an interest in World History, the Holocaust or Nazi Propaganda is sure to find this an engaging and worthwhile watch. The initial audience feedback from the Tuesday night screening was so positive, CIFF is giving festival-goers a second chance to see it.You can catch the encore presentation of A Film Unfinished at The Plaza on Friday, October 1 at 4:45pm.
