The most successful films about that most enormous of subjects, the holocaust, often take a sideways glance rather than stare full on at the horror; and 'The Island on Bird Street' does likewise, telling the story of a boy left behind after the clearance of the Warsaw ghetto. Unfortunately, the psychology of the child is never satisfactorily realised, turning the film into a mere linear sequence of events, almost like a Boys' Own adventure with little of the context seeping through. The story also ends short of the arrival of the Russians, which might have added a little moral complexity; and overall, seems to suffer from the decision use an English script, especially as some characters put on central European accents and others do not. A reliable plus is Zbigniew Priesner's typically excellent score, but there are other films that offer more real insight into the true nature of life under the Nazi's; for example, try the Czech-set 'Divided we Fall'.
Review of The Island on Bird Street
