Misha and the Wolves

Misha and the Wolves takes a while to get going, a long while. And toward the middle, it really bogs down. But the last 20-30 minutes are a decent payoff.

If this documentary were edited better, and if we lost the 20-30 minutes of people staring at the camera and making faces, it would have been so much better.

This could have been a stellar 40-50 minute piece. Instead, it felt very stretched out and felt time-wastingly slow.

I had to stop halfway through and check in with the friend who recommended it to me. He told me the twist at the end was worth it, and it was.

I still recommend watching it, but I'd recommend multitasking for the first 50-60 minutes.

Misha and the Wolves (2021) was written and directed by Sam Hobkinson.

The Misha in the title is Misha Defonseca, who tells the harrowing story of of her childhood during the Holocaust. She tell about leaving her home and walking through the woods. During this terrible time, she is helped by a pack of wolves.

What happens next is the plot of the film. This is a movie definitely worth seeing. However, if you read the reviews of critics or watch the trailer, you'll lose some of the enjoyment of the film. My suggestion is to rent it, watch it, and then see what others have written.

This movie has a weak IMDb rating of 6.7. I thought that it was much better than that, and rated it 8.

Wow. Amazing story, within a story of a story.

A great documentary with twists, turns and tumbles. Watch it without googling anything about it first.. then google yourself into the wee hours after. Brilliant docco.

This documentary was like a film within a film, that did not seem like a documentary, but more of a mystery thriller TV episode. It was paced well and the presentation was very well done and, it kept you well entertained. I had guessed within the first 5 minutes or less - as I am sure the many who have seen it did also - that the heroine of the story was...I won't say more so as not to give the story away if you have not yet viewed this superb bio film. I was not however expecting her to have such a complexed personality disorder. I initially had just thought she was a despicable fraud.

Of the 135 documentary films I have so far watched this year, this is definitely in my top 10!

Amazing twists and turns. Good editing and images. Unpredictable outcome.