Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2000)

The story of the child refugees who were transported to Britain to escape the Nazi Holocaust.

Director:

Mark Jonathan Harris

Writer:

Mark Jonathan Harris

Stars:

Judi Dench, Lory Cahn, Kurt Fuchel

Won 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Judi Dench	...	Narrator
Lory Cahn	...	Herself
Kurt Fuchel	...	Himself
Eva Hayman	...	Herself
Ursula Rosenfeld	...	Herself
Lorraine Allard	...	Herself
Jack Hellman	...	Himself
Lore Segal	...	Herself
Robert Sugar	...	Himself
Hedy Epstein	...	Herself
Norbert Wollheim	...	Himself
Nicholas Winton	...	Himself
Franzi Groszmann	...	Herself
Alexander Gordon	...	Himself
Bertha Leverton	...	Herself

Storyline

In 1938 and 1939, about 10,000 children, most of them Jews, were sent by their parents from Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia to the safety of England where foster families took most of them in for the duration of the war. Years later, eleven kinder, one child's mother, an English foster mother, a survivor of Auschwitz who didn't go to England, and two of the kindertransport organizers remember: the days before the Nazis, the mid-to-late 1930s as Jews were ostracized, saying farewell to family, traveling to England, meeting their foster families, writing home, fearing the worst, coping, and trying to find families after the war ended. 1,500,000 children dead; 10,000 saved.

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Plot Keywords:

england | jew | 1930s | kindertransport | refugee | 

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Taglines:

In the nine months prior to World War II, 10,000 innocent children left behind their families, their homes, their childhood, and took the journey...

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Genres:

Documentary | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. (german)

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

24 November 2000 (UK)

Also Known As:

Dans des bras étrangers

Filming Locations:

Waddesdon Manor, Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$32,037 (USA) (15 September 2000)

Gross:

$374,555 (USA) (15 December 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sabine Films, Skywalker, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Follows My Knees Were Jumping: Remembering the Kindertransports (1996)

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Soundtracks

"Rule Britannia"
Composed by Thomas Arne
Words by James Thompson

User Reviews

A rich and powerful evocation of loss and hope

This film continues to haunt me. With such delicacy, honesty, and poignancy, the great tragic horror of the holocaust is brought home to us on a human scale from a child's vantage point. Each unique story is told with such quiet strength and dignity. It is not only what is said, but what is not said, that is so moving. It would have been so easy to over-sentimentalize or shock, yet this film navigates through the emotional landscape with compassion and sensitivity. The voices are wise, direct and articulate on the surface, but just below, there are complex layers of remembrance, guilt, shame, grief, rage, fear, loss, despair, sadness, faith, relief and hope.

The interweaving of the past and present, black and white and colour, child and adult, is crafted with great skill. The musical score is a perfect counterpoint to the unfolding drama. There is not one false note, not one. Everything is presented with a remarkable aesthetic and thoughtfulness.

No other holocaust documentary has had a greater impact on me. As a grownup 'child' and now as a mother, I will think about this film for a very long time to come.