A Film Unfinished
2010 · 89 MIN · IMDB 7.4 · 1,934 VOTES · DIR. Yael Hersonski
Overview
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.
Dialogue Timeline — 631 lines
A SAMPLE ACROSS THE RUNTIME — EVERY LINE IS SEARCHABLE
00:00:57 This is the story of a film that was never completed.
00:02:58 One can only surmise.
00:07:21 As he fought a losing battle to save all he possibly could
00:11:53 So, yes, I saw them filming.
00:15:30 Jewish families weren't allowed to live in more than one room.
00:18:53 for the S.S. Officers who carried out its step-by-step destruction.
00:22:18 He said that I should be at the community center at 7:30
00:25:26 Herr Wist, the court would like to know...
00:28:27 the sanitary installations had stopped working.
00:33:10 She used to walk around with her baby in her arms
00:36:40 A young woman was lying next to the café.
00:41:05 We used to shower and brush our teeth every day.
00:45:20 documenting the daily struggle and annihilation...
00:48:19 All the scenes are being staged.
00:52:15 He never gave us any explanation concerning the meaning of our filming.
00:56:24 This was recorded on film, to show that while the Jews live in luxury
00:59:31 the audience had to yell "Bravo!"
01:02:53 This clearly had one intention:
01:06:02 This week they invented a new way to torture us.
01:09:54 but also die with dignity and even get a luxurious burial.
01:14:51 My face was nearly touching his
01:18:32 a Jew going around with a handcart carrying corpses.
01:23:54 They preoccupied my thoughts for quite some time.
01:27:48 of many thousands Jews for immediate deportation to Treblinka.