I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life & Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal (2007)

A documentary on the Austrian-Jewish architectural engineer who became a Nazi hunter after surviving the Holocaust.

Director:

Richard Trank

Writers:

Marvin Hier, Richard Trank

Stars:

Nicole Kidman, Simon Wiesenthal, Asher BenNatan

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Nicole Kidman	...	Narrator (voice)
Simon Wiesenthal	...	Himself (archive footage)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Asher BenNatan	...	Himself (as Arthur Pier)
Frederick Forsyth	...	Himself
Marvin Hier	...	Himself
Ben Kingsley	...	Himself
Cyla Wiesenthal	...	Herself (archive footage)
Pauline Rosa Wiesenthal	...	Herself

Storyline

"I Have Never Forgotten You" is a comprehensive look at the life and legacy of Simon Wiesenthal, the famed Nazi hunter and humanitarian. Narrated by Academy Award winning actress Nicole Kidman, it features interviews with longtime Wiesenthal associates, government leaders from around the world, friends and family members--many of whom have never discussed the legendary Nazi hunter and humanitarian on camera. Previously unseen archival film and photos also highlight the film. What was the driving force behind his work? What kept him going when for years the odds were against his efforts? What is his legacy today, more than 60 years after the end of World War Two?

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Plot Keywords:

nazi hunter | husband wife relationship | family relationships | train | small town | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for disturbing violent images and descriptions of the Holocaust

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

German English

Release Date:

March 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Simon Wiesenthal Documentary

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,802, 8 December 2006, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$10,802, 8 December 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

Moriah Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Marvin Hier: [quoting Simon Wiesenthal] Hitler is gone, Nazis are no more. But we are still here, singing and dancing.

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Connections

Features CBS Evening News with Dan Rather (1981)

User Reviews

Unweildy title but a truly fascinating picture

"I Have Never Forgotten You -- the Life and Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal" (Richard Trank, USA, 2006, 105 minutes)

This is the unwieldy title of a truly fascinating documentary which might just as well (in fact much more aptly) have been called "Simon Wiesenthal -- Tracer of Lost Nazis" -- or just plain "Nazi Hunter". Wiesenthal died in Vienna in 2004 at age 90 plus, a lifetime during which he survived the Holocaust, then spent the rest of his life relentlessly tracking down escaped Nazi war criminals in order to bring them to so-called 'justice'. His most famous catch was Adolph Eichmann, whom he traced all the way to Argentina, then had him kidnapped by the Mossad and brought back to Israel to stand trial for his part in implementing the German "Final Solution" -- the mass murder of the European Jews. The film traces Wiesenthal's entire life from the Ukraine to the camps to post-war Vienna, and what emerges -- oddly -- is not the picture of a vengeful Jewish James Bond -- but quite the contrary -- a mild mannered middle-aged man with a mission in life which he quietly pursued in order to "set things right" ~~ as much as ever they could be set. In later years in Vienna, where he had chosen to settle with his wife after the war, he was often grossly lambasted by the shamelessly Neo-Nazi Austrian media, to the point where his wife urged him to leave. But Wiesenthal decided it was here, in the eye of the revisionist denial storm, that he had to stick to his guns even though he was very much a Persona non Grata. (In the film he speaks in German most of the time). But the film ends on an upbeat note when he is greatly honored at a Vienna synagogue in this horribly hypocritical anti-Semitic city on his ninetieth birthday. Well, Simon finally had the last laugh, but this film is no laughing matter -- simply a blow-by-blow account of one of the strangest lives of the XXth century. Not to be missed. Narrated by actress Nicole Kidman. Viewed at 2007 Seattle film festival.