Partisans of Vilna (1986)

User Rating:

8.8/10   

Director:

Joshua Waletzky

Writers:

Aviva Kempner (script development)
Joshua Waletzky (narration)

Release Date:

12 September 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

This film tells the story of the men and women who formed the Jewish partisan movement in Vilna, Lithuania, during World War II.

Plot Keywords:

Jewish | Lithuania | Vilnius | Holocaust | WWII

Cast

Roberta Wallach	...	Narrator
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Abba Kovner	...	Himself

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Ciesla

Not your average Holocaust documentary

Long before Steven Spielberg's Shoah Foundation started its series of excellent documentaries, and preceding other recent and memorable documentaries on the subject, PARTISANS OF VILLA was produced. Having been put together 15 years ago,with a good number of the survivors of the pre-World War II Lithuanian Jewish community still in good mental state, this documentary is not only more convincingly authentic through its varied interviews, it also explores unusual themes. Chief among the latter is making the point that Jews DID fight back. They created and joined "Partisan" commandos fighting the Nazis, in the forests of Lithuania and Poland. Their multi-faceted participation in these efforts is very well documented in this exceptional film. This is achieved both by visuals (actual footage, detailed maps), and excellent in-depth interviews from survivors. I certainly hope this gem won't be forgotten with the recent plethora of Holocaust documentaries. This one is a classic.