Edges of the Lord (2001)

A twelve-year-old Jewish boy hides with a family of Catholic peasant farmers to escape the Nazis.

Director:

Yurek Bogayevicz

Writer:

Yurek Bogayevicz

Stars:

Haley Joel Osment, Willem Dafoe, Richard Banel

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Haley Joel Osment	...	Romek
Willem Dafoe	...	Priest
Richard Banel	...	Vladek
Liam Hess	...	Tolo
Olaf Lubaszenko	...	Gniecio
Malgorzata Foremniak	...	Manka
Andrzej Grabowski	...	Kluba
Chiril Vahonin	...	Robal
Olga Frycz	...	Maria
Dorota Piasecka	...	Ela Kluba
Wojciech Smolarz	...	Pyra
Marek Weglarski	...	Max
Edyta Jurecka	...	Sara
Ryszard Ronczewski	...	Batylin
Krystyna Feldman	...	Wanda

Storyline

Polish 12 year-young city Jew Romek gets a crash-course in Catholicsim from his daddy ('stay hanging by your arms till your prayers are perfect') so he can be sent away and escape deportation (Auschwitz?) hiding in the country where the clergy found a host, Gniecio's simple peasant family, posing as their city relative. Gniecio's eldest son Vladek proves rather tyrannical but no brighter then gullible junior Tollo, who takes a role play in catechism class to 'become' a Last Supper character, in his case Jesus, to the extreme, even training for a crucifixion from a tree. Neighbor Batylin and his wife are executed by the Nazis when their illegally kept pig is found. Kluba plays a dirty trick when Gniecio tries to sell his in the city; his son is as problematic for the boys, who meanwhile play involving a single girl-playmate, Maria, who takes Romek in when he's stupidly thrown out by his widowed host by mistake. The horror of war itself suddenly shows its ugly head again, big time and ...

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Plot Keywords:

peasant | nazi | boy | prayer | farmer | 

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Taglines:

In the holocaust of war his only refuge was his imagination.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence and sexual content

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie wasn't released in USA due to commercial difficulties right away. There were plans to release it theatrically, but to no avail. It was released straight to DVD.

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Goofs

The movie had numerous religious errors. This was pre-Vatican II, so the Catholic Church was quite different. Some of the religious errors were not all women wearing something on their heads during Mass, no altar rail, the priest didn't say the correct statement before distributing communion, and they should not have said "Amen" after communion.

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Quotes

Tolo: What are they doing?
Vladek: They're lying naked on top of each other.
Tolo: That's awful.

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Soundtracks

Before Your Eyes
Lyrics by Elzbieta Bieluszko-Kaczmarek
Music by Jan A.P. Kaczmarek
Published by Sova Media International (ASCAP)

User Reviews

A Must See Film - for all our futures sake...

I've been an avid Haley Joel Osment fan since his role as Forest Gump's son in the movie of the same name. I have followed this talented young man and seen him grow into one of the great Actors today (not child actors, mind you - he is a full blown actor, IMHO). I lay all this praise out there as a preface to comments since it is important to understand my next statement:

Why on Earth is movie not being distributed in the United States? Why not in World Wide distribution? Here you have an extremely talented cast, in a well thought out and written movie, and so few get to see it. There are some films that are "must see" for the sake of mankind and this is one of them. Is it as significant as Shindler's List? Probably not for the general audience. However, it is very significant for young audiences in their teenage years. I watched this film for the first time with my two sons (14 & 16) and was amazed to hear their perspective on a very difficult subject and time historically. While Shindler's List might help older audiences remember that there was a time that should not be repeated, Edges of the Lord will help teens (and some younger viewers) understand that we cannot allow a repeat of this time in history. My two (Catholic) boys have learned to live as a community from parents and friends that practice what they preach and this film opened their eyes to specifics that are not taught in school. It is very important for those living in relative comfort to see what peers overseas lived like in horrifying circumstances. To have to have grown up so fast. The story captures what should not be forgotten and reminds those of us that know to educate those that don't. Impressive....

The film's star, Haley Joel Osment, is accurate with his acting - voice and accent, and is believable. Haley is amazing in that he can pull you into the world he's in and keep you there. What a gift he has and aren't we lucky to see it grow! Mr. Defoe is excellent. The children in the village are excellent. The set / location and costumes are perfect.

I had to buy this film from Brazil. Miramax, if you are listening, get this film to as many screens as you can! Be responsible, please! At least, release it on DVD. No one should ever forget, and your film will assist in that goal.

Details

Official Sites:

Production company

Country:

USA Poland

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 October 2001 (Poland)

Also Known As:

Edges of the Lord

Filming Locations:

Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland

Box Office

Budget:

$7,500,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$154,768

Company Credits

Production Co:

Braun Entertainment Group, Canal+, Komitet Kinematografii

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1