THE SURVIVOR TRAILER
FOR WW2 BEN FOSTER FILM
A trailer has been released for Barry Levinson's WW2 movie drama THE SURVIVOR which will air on HBO April 27th. In Belchatow, Poland on the eve of World War II, Harry Haft (Ben Foster) falls head over heels in love 
with local girl Leah (Vicky Krieps). When he is sent to Auschwitz, it is the promise of their reunification that allows him to endure the horrors of the camp and maintain a sense of humanity. In Auschwitz, the pugnacious Haft attacks a bullying Nazi and draws the attention of Officer Magnusson, who
makes him a Faustian proposal — fight other inmates for the amusement of the bored brass, or die. As the film alternates between the war's years and his postwar life in America, Haft continues his fight in the ring. His intriguing story earns him a fight with renowned champion Rocky Marciano, all in the
hopes that Leah is still out there somewhere, watching. Based on the book “Harry Haft” by Alan Scott Haft, the film also has Billy Magnussen, John Leguizamo, Peter Sarsgaard and Danny DeVito in the cast.
with local girl Leah (Vicky Krieps). When he is sent to Auschwitz, it is the promise of their reunification that allows him to endure the horrors of the camp and maintain a sense of humanity. In Auschwitz, the pugnacious Haft attacks a bullying Nazi and draws the attention of Officer Magnusson, who
makes him a Faustian proposal — fight other inmates for the amusement of the bored brass, or die. As the film alternates between the war's years and his postwar life in America, Haft continues his fight in the ring. His intriguing story earns him a fight with renowned champion Rocky Marciano, all in the
hopes that Leah is still out there somewhere, watching. Based on the book “Harry Haft” by Alan Scott Haft, the film also has Billy Magnussen, John Leguizamo, Peter Sarsgaard and Danny DeVito in the cast.
I have just watched “Krol”, a mega super uber Polish show about a Jewish boxer (I hope I get to talk about it next week) and I don’t think anything could top it. Miniseries are the only way to do justice to the Holocaust subject, particularly if they are European productions. I’m weary of Holocaust films, especially if made by Americans, they fall into cliches and disrespectful naïvetés. On the same subject, I recommend the excellent Triumph of the Spirit.
ReplyDeletePlus Foster is usually a terrible actor. I think he lost pounds for this one thinking that will do the trick, but I will leave my judgement until we see it.
DeleteIs this a true story? I wonder how many people survived Auschwitz from the start of the war to the end. I would imagine, it's sadly not many.
ReplyDeleteGiven that it is based on a book, I would say yes.
DeleteAn interesting and inspiring war story! Unfortunately, we don't have HBO.
ReplyDeleteYou must get it!
DeleteYes "The surbpvivor" looks great. I think It is one of the good quality films recently. I loved its trailer.
ReplyDeleteGlad you did.
DeleteI’d have to read the book first. Like Malena said, you can’t pack that much detail into one film. The book would be more in depth, methinks.
ReplyDeleteWe always prefer books to films, but I do adore TV series adaptations.
DeleteI watched the trailer again (I don’t want to watch the film since reviews are so bad.) Looks depressing and not informative, but I sensed a dark angle, a sort of survivor’s guilt in reverse. Survivor’s guilt did not sprout out of nothing. Most survivors were judged guilty by their communities. Neighbors, even family members, accused them of collaboration. It was why victims kept silent for decades. But I find this new judgmental revisionism of the Cancellation Culture particularly revolting since there are almost no survivors left to answer back.
ReplyDeleteAbout the book, Theresa, it’s a graphic novel based on Harry’s memoirs as told to his son. The graphic novel came out in 2011. The biography was published in 2006 when Haft was dying of cancer (he was in his 80s) so it’s not like he could dispute the book’s content
That is so nasty, almost like they wanted them to have died in the camps.
DeleteIt is even worse here in old Yugoslavia, where many of the victims among the Serbs, Gypsies and other nations were faced with Croats denying that over 700.000 people were killed in their camps, especially Jasenovac, or with them lowering the number dramatically. Later on they will play the victims in the civil war in ex Yugoslavia.
Croatians have blood in their hands. Small wonder they are negationists. There were 20 camps in what it was then Croatia. Only four were administered by the SS. Jasenovac was not a mere concentration camp, it was an extermination center for Serbs, Jews, Roma and Croatian Muslims. It was in Jasenovac where gas (vans, not chambers) was used to kill prisoners for the first time.
DeleteYes, it has been recorded that even the Nazis were appalled by the atrocities the Ustashas committed in Jasenovac. And they did not just use gas, they would throw kids alive into river Sava or they would just beat them dead with clubs which means they wanted a type of killing they could enjoy in their viciousness.
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