Irena's Vow (2023)
8/10
A Very Different WW II Movie
19 April 2024
I've seen a lot of WW II movies. I've never seen one quite like this. "Irena's Vow" is the story of a real person, Irena Gut, a teenager when WW II began. She was a virgin, from a loving, well to do family. The war began, and she was gang raped, beaten, and left for dead by Red Army soldiers, famous for their rapes across Europe.

Nazis murdered her father. Her family split up She was alone and desperate. She never gave in to self pity, but dedicated herself to saving Jews from extermination. Her self sacrifice, her courage, and her ingenuity put the rest of us to shame. Holy Cow, what a woman.

Sophie Nelisse is almost supernatural in her ability to inhabit the young Irena Gut -- the real Irena's daughter said as much. Nelisse has said that she is not a Method actor, and she was able to shake off the difficulties of the part as soon as she heard "Cut." That's amazing.

I strongly recommend this film. Again, I can't thnk of anything else quite like it.
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