Last Days, The
MPAA Rating: PG-13
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Entertainment: +2 1/2
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Content: +2
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In this heart-wrenching documentary, the lives of five surviving Hungarian Jews are chronicled from before WWII until the present day. All of these survivors were in Europe during the war, although not all of them were captured and placed in concentration camps. The film begins its journey in Hungary after the war had begun and it followed the German occupation of Hungary near the end of the war. The Germans made the move not in hopes of winning the war but to instead kill as many Jews as possible. Each of the survivors recount memories of the experience with some of them actually returning to the camps for the first time. The film not only deals with the specific experiences of each survivor, but it also delves into how each of them felt throughout their experience. The movie also includes insight from a Nazi doctor, a historian, and some organizations that help survivors of the holocaust. This film is well done, combining still photos and actual footage from the camps with the emotional memories of the survivors and it will appeal to any history buff.
This film earns its PG-13 rating for the tremendously difficult and horrid scenes in the aftermath of the war. When the camps were liberated, many of the American soldiers recorded video of the emaciated Jews who were being starved to death. There are a number of pictures showing piles of dead bodies that look like nothing more than skin and bones. In these scenes there are also some pictures of nude prisoners who had nothing to cover themselves with. These scenes do include a brief shot of female breast nudity and some male rear nudity, although the nudity is not exploitive at all. In its favor, the movie deals with the serious issues of God and the faith of the Jews during this time. There are a number of honest feelings expressed about God, from when they were in the camps to the present. In light of the fact that this is a documentary and that the violence and nudity were not excessive, we are happy to recommend this film as a great opportunity to gain perspective on some of the personal stories from the war.
Preview Reviewer: John Adair
Distributor: October Films, 65 Bleeker St., New York, NY 10012
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Summary
The following categories contain objective listings of film content which contribute to the subjective numeric Content ratings posted to the left and on the Home page.
Crude Language: Few (2) times - All Mild
Obscene Language: None
Profanity: Few (4) times - All Exclamatory (My God)
Violence: Several times - Mild and Moderate (verbal descriptions of violent acts, man shot, piles of dead bodies, images of emaciated people)
Sex: None
Nudity: Few (3) times - (male rear nudity, female breast, all nudity occurs in footage of concentration camps)
Sexual Dialogue/Gesture: None
Drugs: None
Other: All violence and nudity take place in footage from concentration camps, many statements about God and the strength He provided for them
Running Time: 87 minutes
Intended Audience: Adults
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