Starring William Hurt, Julia Ormond, Alan Arkin, and Lynn Redgrave, this drama is based on the true story of Varian Fry, who risked his life to establish an underground rescue network that saved some 2,000 people from death at the hands of the Nazis during World War II. Sickened after witnessing the treatment of Jews in Nazi territory, Fry starts an emergency rescue mission to raise funds and lobby to help a growing list of intellectuals and artists escape from France. Through the help of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, he overcomes the reluctance of the U.S. State Department and begins to track down intellectuals and artists such as Marc Chagall and initiate the clandestine action.
Why is this film, in which Poland is never mentioned, notable as it relates to the Polish American experience? Two reasons: 1) the unflinching portrayal of Vichy France during World War II, where the Pétain government tried to avoid Nazi occupation by total collaboration and 2) the exposure of U.S. policy not to issue entry visas to Jews. This film undoes some of the post-war propaganda that romanticized France and Italy and demonized Poland, where the Nazis implemented their murderous plans and met with the most stubborn resistance. For its efforts, Poland paid a far higher price than France (6 million people killed versus 567,000) and the total destruction of Warsaw (versus "We'll always have Paris"). These facts are all the more galling in the 21st century when deniers such as Jan Gross write books about anti-Semitism that virtually blame Poland for the Holocaust.
Produced for Showtime in 2001, but released theatrically in Canada, this is a must-see among films about World War II, ranking right up there with Schindler's List. It is also interesting to note that Barbra Streisand served as an executive producer.
Why is this film, in which Poland is never mentioned, notable as it relates to the Polish American experience? Two reasons: 1) the unflinching portrayal of Vichy France during World War II, where the Pétain government tried to avoid Nazi occupation by total collaboration and 2) the exposure of U.S. policy not to issue entry visas to Jews. This film undoes some of the post-war propaganda that romanticized France and Italy and demonized Poland, where the Nazis implemented their murderous plans and met with the most stubborn resistance. For its efforts, Poland paid a far higher price than France (6 million people killed versus 567,000) and the total destruction of Warsaw (versus "We'll always have Paris"). These facts are all the more galling in the 21st century when deniers such as Jan Gross write books about anti-Semitism that virtually blame Poland for the Holocaust.
Produced for Showtime in 2001, but released theatrically in Canada, this is a must-see among films about World War II, ranking right up there with Schindler's List. It is also interesting to note that Barbra Streisand served as an executive producer.