In the Presence of Mine Enemies (1997)

A Rabbi in the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland in 1942 fights to maintain his stance of peace and acceptance of his fellow man despite the growing turmoil and atrocities created by the Nazis. ... See full summary »

Director:

Joan Micklin Silver

Writer:

Rod Serling

Stars:

Armin Mueller-Stahl, Charles Dance, Elina Löwensohn

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	Rabbi Adam Heller
Charles Dance	...	Captain Richter
Elina Löwensohn	...	Rachel Heller
Chad Lowe	...	Sergeant Lott
Don McKellar	...	Paul Heller
Peter Friedman	...	Kohn
Tony Nardi	...	Emmanuel
John Dunn-Hill	...	Josef Chinik
Diana Skaya	...	Child Singer
Ely Bonder	...	Singer's Father
Jason Shayne Schwartz	...	Israel
Alon Nashman	...	Baruch
Susan Almgren	...	Mrs. Carwine (as Susie Almgren)
Saba Cottle	...	Miriam
Howard Rosenstein	...	Bookseller

Storyline

A Rabbi in the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland in 1942 fights to maintain his stance of peace and acceptance of his fellow man despite the growing turmoil and atrocities created by the Nazis. Meanwhile his son becomes more militaristic with each new offense and a young German soldier offended by the actions he sees decides to help the rabbi's daughter escape from the Ghetto after she is raped by an officer.

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Plot Keywords:

rabbi | ghetto | nazi | based on tv movie | remake | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and some scenes of violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 April 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

En presencia de mis enemigos

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Foxboro Company Productions, Hallmark Entertainment, Showtime Networks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A TV movie for the Showtime network.

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Connections

Remake of Playhouse 90: In the Presence of Mine Enemies (1960)

User Reviews

Well made and thought provoking

I enjoyed this movie and I'm surprised I didn't hear more about it. Set in Poland in 1942 with it's main characters living in the infamous Warsaw Ghetto. Housed in terrible conditions a society of Jewish Poles live a fearful existence under the rule of their Nazi oppressors. The main character of the story is the Rabi Adam Heller who lives with his 19 year old daughter trying to do what he can to comfort and care-for his dying people. The characters in this movie are well developed and the acting is believable. It shows the different emotional responses of an oppressed society whose entire population is dying off from starvation, disease, and by the hand of their captors. On one hand you have a pacifist Rabi whose faith in God is stretched almost to the breaking point, and on the other side a younger generation who believes in an eye for an eye and wishes to shed German blood for the thousands of Jewish lives lost. While this movie depicts the darkest period in mankind to date, it's more about the people themselves then the actual horrors. While it lets you know that terrible acts are occurring it doesn't morbidly display the terrible events scene by scene. It's a movie about people living in the face of terrible tragedy trying to hold on to faith in both God and in humanity itself. If you are interested in World War II and like thought provoking dramas -- then this is a movie for you. It's one that I won't be soon forgetting.