Movie Description
INTO THE ARMS OF STRANGERS, the stunning, heartrending documentary feature directed by Mark Jonathan Harris and narrated by Judi Dench, details the rescue of 10,000 German, Austrian, and Czechoslovakian Jewish children just prior to the outbreak of WWII. A labor of love for producer Deborah Oppenheimer, whose mother was part of the kindertransport, the documentary combines powerful testimonies from now elderly--kinder--with rare archival film footage. Following the Kristallnacht pogroms in November 1938, a mission began to remove Jewish children to the only nation willing to harbor them--England. Parents lucky enough to secure their children places had the heartbreaking task of packing a single suitcase and putting their child on a train, promising to follow soon after. Most of the parents, however, died in Hitler's concentration camps. In England, the kinder were faced with new problems--living with strangers who spoke another language, while simultaneously missing and feeling abandoned by their parents. Recounting their compelling, gut-wrenching stories, the pain is still raw for the elderly kinder--but they are survivors in every sense of the word. Their fortune, though traumatizing, is underscored by the film's final, sobering statistic: 1.5 million children perished during the Holocaust.
| Credits | | Producer: | Deborah Oppenheimer |
| Details | | Sound: | Stereo Sound, Surround Sound |
Notes
DVD Features:
Region 1
Snap Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Dolby Digital 5.1 - French
Additional Release Material:
Audio Commentary - 1.
2.
Production Interview - 1. Richard Attenborough - Actor
Additional Footage - 1. Coverage of the London and Berlin Premieres
Trailers - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer
Text/Photo Galleries:
Stills/Photos - 1. Historical Artifacts and Memorabilia
Biographies - 1. Kinder, Parent and Rescuer Profiles
Filmographies - 1. Crew
DVD-ROM Features:
Web Links, Theatrical release: September 15, 2000 (Limited)
Director Mark Jonathan Harris won an Academy Award in 1997 for his Holocaust documentary THE LONG WAY HOME.
By chance, the film's editor Kate Amend found an outtake from a newsreel showing one of the film's main interviewees, Lore Segal, stepping off the boat onto English soil as a child.
The film's producer, Deborah Oppenheimer, is the executive producer for THE DREW CAREY SHOW.
Narrator Dame Judi Dench won a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award in 1999 for her role in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE.
Editorial Reviews
"...The children, now mostly in their 70's, [recall] the overwhelming facts of their childhoods with simple dignity and heart-rending power..."
New York Times - p.E10 - A. O. Scott
"...For every grown child here there is a story, and each one is moving..."--3.5 out of 4 stars
USA Today - p.6E - Mike Clark
"...An affecting documentary about...a remarkable rescue mission..." -- Rating: B+
Entertainment Weekly - p.53 - Lisa Schwarzbaum
"...INTO THE ARMS OF STRANGERS is a compelling grueling documentary....[The interviewees] convey the essence of their experience as no archive footage or voiceover can..."
Sight and Sound - p.51 - Stella Bruzzi
"...It's an especially moving and effective piece of work....A memorable experience..."
Los Angeles Times - Kenneth Turan (09/15/2000)
Awards
2000Academy AwardsBest Documentary Feature
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