SheWillRememberYourHeart

I'm coming back from the movie's premiere at a film festival and still can't quite explain the experience in its entirety.

I can tell you, however, that I would strongly recommend watching this movie if you're interested in either the bigger question of how we try and understand something like the Holocaust or just interested in the personal stories of the people who were in charge of interrogating Eichmann in 1960, presenting the Israeli public (and the world) with his crimes. It'll be a fascinating watch whichever angle you approach this 59-minute documentary from.

If I had to boil it down to just one point - this movie is about how impossible it is to put the Holocaust on trial (symbolically, historically, physically) and how vital it is that we do.

Representative of this and most intriguing for me was the character of Miki (Goldman) Gilad, a boy who survived the camps only to lose his family in the Holocaust. He went on to becoming one of the police officers in charge of the investigation and he perfectly embodies the ambivalence and impossibility of this encounter. He's an impressive figure who managed to maintain his professionalism throughout, yet (slight hint of a spoiler here) he did take a small, symbolic revenge on his prisoner, then he himself disputes his own narration of this story - this was a revenge? Was hanging Eichmann a revenge? Can there even be one?

I was honestly not expecting too much. This was obviously a low-budget, indie production, so I readied myself for all the inevitable flaws that this usually entails.

I was pleasantly surprised: the production values weren't incredible, but they were definitely better than one might expect, the script was smart, touching and funny, and the acting was much better than I anticipated, especially the two leads. I think what particularly worked for me was the humor, it added a nice, knowing wink to the loveliness of this little gem.

This is the story of a Texan "all-American" boy at college who seemingly conforms to the stereotype in every way back in the early 80's. When he meets an openly gay student, he has to confront himself for the first time in his life. Or does he?

I just saw this movie and not knowing much about it, I didn't know what to expect. Whatever my expectations, the movie had surpassed them. The cast is brilliant, the dialog tight, the building of the story towards the climax careful, sensitive and moving.

It's the story of a man, "Handsome" Harry (Jamie Sheridan) who didn't know his own life was a failure until he gets a call from an old navy friend (Steve Buscemi), forcing him to examine his life. It leads him on a road trip during which he seeks absolution - officially on his friend's behalf or maybe it's for himself - and has to come to grips with the decisions that he's made, the people that he's hurt and the crime he has committed. At the end of this journey, will he have the courage and strength to overcome the fear that drove him in the past?

I suspect the people who gave the movie poor grades were expecting something else entirely, a suspense thriller, and that's why they were disappointed. While there is some suspense here, it is first and foremost a soul-searching, heart-wrenching drama. And I for one feel richer for having seen it. Much like the jazz music that makes the beautiful soundtrack, there is not one note in it that's out of tune.