A Film Unfinished (2010)

A film about an unfinished film which portrays the people behind and before the camera in the Warsaw Ghetto, exposing the extent of the cinematic manipulation forever changing the way we look at historic images.

Director:

Yael Hersonski

Writer:

Yael Hersonski

Stars:

Alexander Beyer, Rüdiger Vogler, Hanna Avrutzki

5 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Hanna Avrutzki	...	Herself - Witness
Luba Gewisser	...	Herself - Witness
Jurek Plonski	...	Himself - Witness (as Jurek 'David' Plonski)
Aliza Vitis-Shomron	...	Herself - Witness
Shula Zeder	...	Herself - Witness
Janusz Hamerszmit	...	Adam Czerniakow (voice)
Eliezer Niborski	...	Dr. Emanuel Ringelblum (voice)
Alexander Senderovich	...	Chaim Kaplan / Ben Shem (voice)
Mendy Cahan	...	Abraham Lewin / Hersh Waser (voice)
Chava Alberstein	...	Rachel Auerbach (voice) (as Hava Alberstein)
Gera Sandler	...	Jonas Turkow (voice)
Axel Thielmann	...	Auerswald (voice)
Rona Kenan	...	Narrator (voice)
Rüdiger Vogler	...	Willy Wist
Alexander Beyer	...	Interrogator

Storyline

Yael Hersonski's powerful documentary achieves a remarkable feat through its penetrating look at another film-the now-infamous Nazi-produced film about the Warsaw Ghetto. Discovered after the war, the unfinished work, with no soundtrack, quickly became a resource for historians seeking an authentic record, despite its elaborate propagandistic construction. The later discovery of a long-missing reel complicated earlier readings, showing the manipulations of camera crews in these "everyday" scenes. Well-heeled Jews attending elegant dinners and theatricals (while callously stepping over the dead bodies of compatriots) now appeared as unwilling, but complicit, actors, alternately fearful and in denial of their looming fate.

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Plot Keywords:

dead body | malnutrition | jew | warsaw ghetto | unfinished film | 

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Taglines:

In 1942 The Nazi Propaganda Machine Was Hard at Work. 70 Years Later, The Deceit is Finally Unmasked

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Genres:

Documentary | Drama | History

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Germany Israel

Language:

German Hebrew Yiddish Polish English

Release Date:

2010 (Israel)

Also Known As:

A Film Unfinished

Filming Locations:

Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$34,060, 22 August 2010, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$311,542, 14 November 2010

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Color:

Color Black and White (archive footage)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The black & white footage was shot during May 1942.

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Connections

Features Warsaw Ghetto (1942)

User Reviews

Chilling

Having watched this film several times it still haunts me. Knowing that behind the smiling faces that you see in the film, that pure horror propells them.Seeing the piles upon piles of dead bodies and the pure evil that was done, haunting can not even come close to what i was watching.I do not believe that this film should be viewed by those younger than 18. If it has had the effect on me at age 60, i do not think it wise for them to see. It is vital for this film to be seen by older persons who can some how manage to sit through it. If by the end you are not bothered by it, then there is something very wrong with your humanity.It is so true that Man is more savage and inhuman than an animal.