The Hiding Place

As people in the US casually throw around the term 'nazi' to describe anyone with whom they disagree, or anyone they are TOLD to disagree with, this film reminded me of the inhumanity of the nazis in the 20th century. The cruelty is nearly indescribable. And death was only part of the treatment. Torture, removal of identity, theft of all belongings of value, including gold fillings ripped from mouths, and an attempt to remove the thing of most value - faith in God. But this story provides a glimpse into the strength that faith some had that allowed them to still love others - even the most heinous enemies. A lesson that needs to be taught today. Otherwise, I predict a repeat of this part of history. Make sure your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, etc. See this.

This version of The Hiding Place is a video recording of an exceptional stage play recounting the experiences of the Ten Boom family's efforts to save Jews in Holland during WWII. The story is well known to older generations but should be seen by younger folks to get a glimpse of the sacrifice this family, and many others in the underground, made to save the lives of thousands of Jews from the NAZI death camps. The Ten Booms themselves saved hundreds from certain death despite the risk and indeed, making the ultimate sacrifice.

The production is two and a half hours long but it moves along briskly. The stage production value is exceptional; great lighting, sets, and music. The acting is above average and it was a pleasure seeing John Schuck in action.

Though the recording of the play is directed in a somewhat amateurish manner with overuse of poorly framed and wobbly dolly shots, this can be forgiven because it is a live production. I would have preferred to see more of the play as experienced by the audience but, as is often the case with recordings of stage plays, video directors seem to think we would prefer constant close-ups even though the live audience would never be that close to the actors.

This same phenomenon plagues the recordings of even the largest stage productions such as Le Mis and The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall (2011) (the latter of which is almost impossible to watch due to the poor camerawork and video direction). Fortunately, The Hiding Place is so well acted and staged, that one can overlook the camera work and video direction and just take in the pathos of the incredible story of this brave family.

Well worth seeing this high quality stage production.

This is a really MOVING & really MEANINGFUL movie!!! Even my kids (ages 15 and 8) felt it deeply (and in a very good way) & it made for some great conversations afterwards!

I didn't know that a new "Hiding Place" movie was out! It was Providence that I even looked at going to the movies on a Saturday afternoon ~ esp not knowing what might be showing!

This movie was only playing in our area for two days and had only one show time (2pm) on both days! (We "just happened" to catch it's last showing!) I didn't buy tickets ahead (online) because I really didn't think there would be much competition for tickets ~ I was SHOCKED that it was completely SOLD OUT at the first theater we went to!!! And at the second theater there were only a few tickets left!!

Additionally, I wasn't sure how good it could be watch to a theatre production (a "play") on the big screen, so I didn't tell my kids that it was a theatre production until after we had seen it ~ They both said, with conviction, that it was very good!!!

Filming a play production and changing it into a movie format enables the viewer to see the internal depths of the main character while making it a more fluid experiemce with the benefits of movie editing.

The writers did an exceptional job of weaving together the struggles within the heart and soul of the lead character (Corrie Ten Boom) with what she was going thru in real-life while also adding the depth contained within the different preceding chapters and decades of her life as she recalled flashbacks of formative memories from her childhood years which equipped her as an adult (and the movie viewer) to understand her life's as it unfolded, and in the manner that it was meant to unfold! What an accomplishment of true wisdom and beauty!!!

I have seen the original Hiding Place movie as well as the more recent "Return to the Hiding Place" movie. (My teenagers and young adults particularly appreciate delving into the lives of the younger generation of Corrie's family as they entered into the family's mission in that well done, and much more recently created, sequel to the original "Hiding Place" movie.)

This production was a brilliant success and the most accessible form (yet) of sharing the impactful blessing of the life of Corrie Ten Boom with our generation!

I read her book years ago ~ but this brought all of it back so meaningfully!