In Darkness

While there have been other movies dealing with Holocaust this one is unique in its complexity. It takes place in Lvov, town populated by a number of ethnic groups which had coexisted in an uneasy truce in a sort of a Tower of Babel which first the Russian and then the German occupations easily destroyed.

The mix of peoples is apparent by the mix of languages spoken: Polish, Yiddish, Ukrainian, German . The subtitles by the way are excellent and easy to follow.

The movie shows the risks involved in helping Jews under the German occupation a very important but often forgotten point. Heart wrenching scenes caused more than one person to wipe their tears in this Polish audience. The humanity of Socha the imperfect hero makes him one of the most heart warming characters that I recall.

This movie is a thriller, a morality tale and in some ways reminds one of a classic Western where honor, justice and love survive under most adverse circumstances.

The subject matter of some films is so serious that it makes it difficult to assess the work in purely cinematic terms. This is especially true of real-life events that raise moral issues and there can be no bigger instance than that of the Holocaust which is every second of "In Darkness". It tells a story that would be literally incredible if it was not true: how a dissolute Polish sewer worker called Leopold Socha saved the lives of a dozen Jews by hiding them underground for months. This happened in what was during the Second World War the Polish town of Lwów and today is the Ukrainian town of Lviv. In 1978, Socha and his wife were awarded the title "Righteous among the Nations" by Yad Vashem in Israel.

The film is the work of Polish female director Agnieszka Holland and it is a Polish, German and Canadian co-production with a screenplay by Canadian writer David F. Shamoon. In any country, the film will have some subtitles, because the dialogue involves Polish, Ukrainian, Yiddish and German, and of course in English-speaking nations the whole thing is sub-titled which will limit its appeal to many, but it really is a work worth watching. Holland effectively conveys the paralysing fear and utter squalor of life in the sewers and Robert Wieckiewicz as Socha - like the other actors - shows how the unbearable stresses of such situations make people behave in ways, both good and bad, which are out of character.

"In Darkness" does not have the narrative drive and clear characterisation of "Schindler's List" but, like Spielberg's film, it is powerful movie-making and heart-wrenching storytelling.

I saw this movie at the Savannah Film Festival in Georgia today... Going in I thought this movie would be just another holocaust movie. But it was more than just a holocaust movie the story which is based off a true story told the story of people who regardless of race are escaping from their deaths by hiding in a sewer throughout the war. I was amazed by how this movie could keep my attention throughout as seeing that it's just a group of people hiding underground but it did. It's a long movie but entertaining throughout. The story embraced these poor individuals and showed their struggles and I was amazed by the acting. I was also amazed by all the challenges that they had gone through to produce this movie and my thought of how stressful it would be to be on a set like this. As a young cinematographer myself, I was impressed by the lighting and the picture overall that was produced. I'm dying to know what lenses they used for such a beautiful film. For attending this film and not being from Georgia I heard some positive and some negative feedback from other attendees of the film. Some people had a little struggle of how long the movie was... But in my eyes I feel that it's important for the movie to be longer because these people are in a tunnel for over a year and are struggling to survive.

I watched this 5 days ago, and still find it in my mind - in the middle of the night/ while shopping/ washing/ walking down the street.

I don't think I will ever forget it.

Film is dramatic, tense, witty, and above all haunting.

A remarkable film, there is nothing more I can say.

I would just add that the acting is really good.

The story breaks my heart.

The film makes vivid a story from our history, a history that should not ever be forgotten.

There is something compelling in remembering the Nazi atrocities, and also in viewing films about them.

Watching this film, I felt part of a shared experience - respecting and grieving all the people who died and suffered at the hands of the Nazis.

It's WWII in German-occupied Polish city Lwów. Leopold Socha is a sewer worker and an opportunist looking to enrich himself with Jewish gold. At first, he and his co-worker friend Szczepek Wróblewski help the Jews but only for a price. However, the danger of discovery mounts. Some people get suspicious. Leopold finds himself alone hiding his group even after they run out of money.

The obvious holocaust movie comparison is the great 'Schindler's List'. Of course, there is similarity between Schindler and Socha. However the characters in this movie seem move gritty. It's more than the grungy sewer location. It is the people's pettiness and ugly racism. It's not just the Germans, or the Ukranians or the Poles. It's also the Jews. For most of the movie, the motives are not high-minded. Fear and the survival instincts hold sway. The eventual idealism comes not as a single revelation as Schindler riding his horse watching the ghetto be liquidated. It comes in a series of steps that moves forward and backwards. More than once, Socha almost abandons his Jews and almost as many times, Socha is about to be killed by his Jews. This is more gritty and compelling in a different way. Socha is a hero almost by chance but it is his humanity overcoming his fears that is the true story. He is no mover and shaker. He is a blue collar grunt and he risks the little that he had for the sake of strangers. Filming in the narrow confines of the sewer set does limit the visual scale. It doesn't always provide the best views.