Prisoner of Paradise (2002)

Documentary about Holocaust victim Kurt Gerron.

Directors:

Malcolm Clarke, Stuart Sender

Writer:

Malcolm Clarke

Stars:

Ian Holm, Robert Lantz, Eleonore Hertzberg

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ian Holm	...	Narrator (voice)
Robert Lantz	...	Himself (as Robby Lantz)
Eleonore Hertzberg	...	Herself
Lone Koppel	...	Herself (as Lone Koppel de Moos)
Renée Saint-Cyr	...	Herself
Kees Brusse	...	Himself
Silvia Grohs Martin	...	Herself
Susanne Thaler	...	Herself
Hans Margules	...	Himself
Margit Silberfeld	...	Herself
Jan Fischer	...	Himself
Tommy Mandl	...	Himself
Paul Sandfort	...	Himself
Coco Schumann	...	Himself
Ela Weissberger	...	Herself

Storyline

This documentary chronicles the life of Kurt Gerron, a German Jew who rose to prominence as an actor and director in prewar Germany and was eventually coerced by the Nazis into making a film portraying the concentration camp called Terezin (or Theresienstadt) seem like an ideal community of relocated Jews. A well-crafted documentary adeptly narrated by actor Ian Holm, "Prisoner of Paradise" is a fresh reminder that we should never forget what happened.

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Plot Keywords:

concentration camp | holocaust | starvation | nazi propaganda | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA Canada Germany UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 April 2011 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Illusion

Filming Locations:

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alliance Atlantis Communications,British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC),Cafe Productions Ltd.

Technical Specs

Color:

Black and White Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Edited from Ein toller Einfall (1932)

User Reviews

Moving Holocaust Documentary

It blends current film with historic footage seamlessly. We are shown actual film from Kurt Gerron's movies. Gerron became a famous German actor but didn't have the looks for a lead man, so he became a director. One of the best of his time.

Then the Nazi's came to power and started to round up the Jews. Gerron moved from one country to another that was still out of reach of the Nazi's. Eventually as the German's overran Europe, Gerron ran out of time to flee to America. He was sent to the Terezin Concentration Camp. This camp had some of the most talented people in Europe. They were forced to perform for Nazi elites. Many were singers, dancers, actors, etc........

The documentary is tragic of course, but since the most horrific acts are told about and not shown, it isn't as heart wrenching a film to view as say, 'Escape From Sobibor'.