Prisoners of Paradise

"Prisoners of Paradise" and the story of Kurt Gerron is a compelling, tragic, and interesting one all at once. Gerron's story and his time at Thereseinstadt is an interesting subject for a documentary and one I had quite honestly never heard about.

The documentary was effective in its execution, with the archive footage and new interviews both working well together on a number of levels. What the peole have to say is insightful, and the story of all those who lived, associated, and suffered with Gerron is highly compelling. The information on not breaking up the large group and sending them all away together to die was especially impacting. Given Geron's fate, I was compelled by the end of the film to feel bad for him, as I felt in some way I had connected with him over the course of the documentary. Given that I was able to feel such emotions from this documentary in juxtaposition with its professionalism, I would call Prisoners of Paradise a well-made documentary that I would certainly recommend people to see.

Triumph of the Will

"Triumph of the Will" has a ton of cultural significance, and it was very interesting because of that. It is a window not only into a true historical time span, but also a window into propaganda and how it sets out to brainwash anyone vulnerable to it. Indeed, it is fascinating the way in which there is a heavy emphasis on giant crowds, large-scale cheering, and just about every frame having the swastika present. This is biased film making under the guise of fact, with the backdrop of Hitler's journey being that which we are meant to regard highly.

Regardless of the above, however, the film is still arduous in so many ways. The endless scenes of marching and the long build-ups to speeches are not exactly something modern audiences are meant to find engaging. Fascinating perhaps, but certainly not entertaining/engaging. What "Triumph of the Will" is, in essence, is something to be studied and meant (in this day and age) to give insight. In this, it is a successful viewing. In desire to keep me enthralled and desiring a repeat viewing, however...not as much.

Prisoners of Paradise Response

The story of Kurt Gerron was difficult to watch in some respects. This film wasn't as graphic as some other documentaries I've seen about the Holocaust, but it focused on particular people's experiences within the camp. This made the film feel more personal. One thing that stuck out to me about this film was that one of the survivors actually returned to the camp to conduct his interview. That utterly shocked me. He seemed very calm and collected. I don't think I would have been strong enough to do that. Even after so many years. 

Another aspect of the film that surprised me was that some of the survivors interviewed didn't blame Gerron for directing the grossly manipulated documentary about the camp. They recognized how angry people were at the time, but had no anger themselves. I can rationalize why Gerron would decide to direct the film. I can also understand why the other victims would hate Gerron for doing so. To see people who were actually there essentially forgiving Gerron added a degree of humanity to the film. I appreciated that note of positivity. 

 I believe that the film was accurate and feel that I gained a different perspective about the Holocaust. Seeing personal interviews as opposed to broad descriptions of camps and circumstances helped me better understand the constant fear that existed in Theresienstadt. 

Prisoners of Paradise

Prisoners of Paradise chronicled the acting and producing careers of German/Jewish actor Kurt Gerron and the struggles he faced during the tumultuous WWII period and Hitlers rise to power.  I personally found this movie pretty sad.  Even though i knew the outcome before it started there was still this glimmer of hope inside me that led me to believe that in the end the good guys would come out on top.  I kept thinking and hoping that Kurt Gerron would escape Germany just in time, but I knew he wouldn't. Obviously no one could ever imagine that Hitler would gain so much power and all control of the situation would be lost, but it is still sad to see those people stay and hold hope that their home would be returned to normalcy, only to be snatched up and thrown into concentration camps.  As the movie progressed i felt for Kurt Gerron even more because once he was put into Theresienstadt he was hated by his fellow Jewish prisoners for helping to create a piece of Nazi propaganda.  He was promised his life for making this movie and even though in the end they killed him anyway, every single prisoner would have done what he did if they were put into the situation.  Of course he did not want to help the evil enemy, but when you are locked in a concentration camp, starving and tortured, you will do anything to survive and I felt it was unfair for people to turn on Kurt Gerron for what he did.