I watched this film last night at its Latvian premiere. It was a relatively big event owing to the fact that it was the first ever Hollywood production shot entirely on location in Riga. The film's theme is without any doubt an important one and the real life Irena Sendler definitely deserves to have a film made about her life. I'm just not sure that this was the film It is, of course, one thing that they shot the film in Riga, Latvia and not in Poland. Before the screening, one of the producers claimed that it was no longer possible to make a film about the Warsaw ghetto in Warsaw since everything had been destroyed during the war. That may be true, still others have managed. I understand that this film has been made for the American audiences who wouldn't be able to tell the difference between Madrid and Reykjavik but let's be honest, it didn't actually feel very Warsawy. Riga went through similar events during WWII, so the events depicted in this film didn't feel inaccurate against the actual background of the city of Riga but it just wasn't Poland.
However, that wasn't the biggest problem. Mediocre and unconvincing acting aside, everyone not only spoke broken English (plus they had public signs in English!!!) but they also spoke the way Americans do in Hollywood productions - I love you, son - I love, daddy. Excuse me but no one actually speaks with each other like this in real life in Poland, Latvia or anywhere else really for that matter. And what was it all about with this sudden outburst of cautious randiness in the closet? Yes, of course, we need a bit of fully clothed and well-tempered romance to make the Hollywood mission complete.
In many ways, this film tried to be Schindler's List. They even put some real life footage of Irena Sendler at the end of the film, just like they did it in Spielberg's film. But both these films, while touching upon very serious and important matters, flop entirely in terms of authenticity and believability. In other words, cheap Hollywoodisation of European history.
However, that wasn't the biggest problem. Mediocre and unconvincing acting aside, everyone not only spoke broken English (plus they had public signs in English!!!) but they also spoke the way Americans do in Hollywood productions - I love you, son - I love, daddy. Excuse me but no one actually speaks with each other like this in real life in Poland, Latvia or anywhere else really for that matter. And what was it all about with this sudden outburst of cautious randiness in the closet? Yes, of course, we need a bit of fully clothed and well-tempered romance to make the Hollywood mission complete.
In many ways, this film tried to be Schindler's List. They even put some real life footage of Irena Sendler at the end of the film, just like they did it in Spielberg's film. But both these films, while touching upon very serious and important matters, flop entirely in terms of authenticity and believability. In other words, cheap Hollywoodisation of European history.