The Truce (1997)

Based on Primo Levi's autobiographical "The Reawakening".

Director:

Francesco Rosi

Writers:

Tonino Guerra, Primo Levi (autobiography)

Stars:

John Turturro, Rade Serbedzija, Massimo Ghini

6 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Turturro	...	Primo Levi
Rade Serbedzija	...	The Greek
Massimo Ghini	...	Cesare
Stefano Dionisi	...	Daniele
Teco Celio	...	Col. Rovi
Roberto Citran	...	Unverdorben
Claudio Bisio	...	Ferrari
Andy Luotto	...	D'Agata
Agnieszka Wagner	...	Galina
Lorenza Indovina	...	Flora
Marina Gerasimenko	...	Maria Fyodorovna
Igor Bezgin	...	Yegorov
Aleksandr Ilin	...	The Mongol
Vyacheslav Olkhovskiy	...	Lt. Sergei
Anatoliy Vasilev	...	Dr. Gotlieb

Storyline

This is the true story of Italian Jews returning home from Auschwitz after the war. It deals with their experiences in readjusting to life and their fears about what they will find at home.

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Plot Keywords:

greek | auschwitz | italian | train | prisoner | 

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Taglines:

At the end of the war, a group of Italian prisoners get lost on their way home. Their journey back transformed everyone they met along the way.

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language and sexual content

Details

Country:

Italy France Germany Switzerland

Language:

English Russian German Polish Italian Latin

Release Date:

24 April 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Truce

Filming Locations:

Turin, Piedmont, Italy

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$23,165, 26 April 1998

Gross USA:

$71,448

Company Credits

Production Co:

3 Emme Cinematografica, Stéphan Films, UGC Images

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Final film written and directed by Francesco Rosi.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Primo Levi: Face to face with freedom. We felt lost, emptied, atrophied, unfit for our new found liberty.

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Connections

References Top Hat (1935)

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Soundtracks

Ma l'amore no
Written by Giovanni D'Anzi (as G. D'Anzi) and Michele Galdieri (as Galdieri)

User Reviews

The Holocaust: with some detail you've never seen before...

I suppose everyone has seen one or more film representations of The Holocaust, but this one is different. It focuses not on the horror of the events themselves, rather, it's main thrust is struggle to return from the nightmare.

I liked the film for its apparent accuracy in location and the detail of what it was like for some of the Jews liberated from Auschwitz to find their way back to their homelands. Virtually helpless, the Jews in Primo Levi's autobiography embark on an odyssey that eventually gets them back to their homes -- at least some of them. All the more surprising is that Stalin's Soviet Union is their main benefactor throughout all of this. While this is supposed to be an autobiography, I have to wonder at some of the scenes, for example, when the train load of Jews arrives at the Munich main rail station, a former Werhmacht soldier kneels before them. In another, a Jew with barely enough food for himself, gives some bread to German POWs in Russia so that he can watch them fight over it. The irony is unmistakable.

Overall, I liked the film. It's one you have to see more than once because of all the detail. It's a bit difficult to follow the dialog in part, because much of it is in the language of the people who are represented: Poles, Russians, Ukrainians, French, Germans, Italians. Not only that, but the English dialog is accented and somewhat difficult to follow.

I intend to see it at least one or two more times in order to get the full effect of this very well done story.