La canción de los nombres olvidados

The Song of Names, a way to remember the names of the dead from the holocaust, is poignant and deeply moving. This film did not do it justice.

Dov, the boy genius from Warsaw is left by his father in London, under the care of an English non-Jewish family, where he can continue to hone his talent of playing the violin. The father returns to Poland to rejoin the rest of his family on the brink of the breakout of world war two.

We are then left with Dov, his journey of life and that of his English "brother" Martin.

Unfortunately, Dov is never very likeable at any of the ages portrayed in the film and to be honest, neither is Martin nor Martin's wife, Helen.

The suffering of those around them, Martin's father, the rabbi, the Jewish survivors in London, the polish girl in Warsaw and Joseph, the other polish violinist, all of whom we only get fleeting glances of, is more affecting than that of the central characters.

I simply don't know what to make of this film.

Watch it by all means, for the music alone and to understand the meaning of the title and maybe you will have a different reaction than I did.

There are some great aspects to this film. The scenes of childhood & the actors in the midst of WW2 are well depicted. Safe relatively in England, far safer than Poland.

The time shifting sequences flipping from one era to another made things stilted & confusing & annoying more than interesting.

Excellent sets in Poland esp Treblinka & in Hampstead where the main character encounters a survivor of Treblinka & then learns about his own family.

Worth watching but this film could have been outstanding.

Exploring the aspect of the holocaust on those who had managed to leave or not but survive makes a great basis for exploring humanity & the challenges of going on after loss.

The story meanders a lot which gets in the way of building a sense of connection to the adults; the earlier scenes when the key characters are still boys manages to build that connection.

This story is so effective and so emotional, that it sends chills right down my spine. I feel so connected with the story and the characters, that I feel their pain and their anguish. It is a wonderful film.

"The Song of Names" is a film with Clive Owen and Tim Roth elegantly directed by Francois Girard. It tells the story of two young boys who develop a friendship over a shared love of music. Young Polish violin prodigy Dovidl Rapoport comes to live with the family of Martin Simmonds in the days preceding the German bombings of London, England during WWII.

The story continues showing different periods of Dovidl and Martin's lives from adolescence to mature adulthood. With the excellent acting, screenplay by Jeffrey Caine and Girard's conscientious direction, the film is a gift to the viewing public!

The latest movie from the director who gave us the wonderful "The Red Violin".A film about Family, friendship, music and the holocaust. Good performances from all the cast, a good plot and an okay script. This film definitely pulls at the heartstrings.