In post-World War II England, a humanitarian effort spearheaded by psychologist Oscar Friedmann (Thomas Kretschmann) and philanthropist Leonard Montefiore (Tim McInnerny) brought hundreds of boys and girls liberated from the German camps to a lakeside estate for counseling, education, and hopeful integration into British society. The orphans' life-affirming odyssey is movingly dramatized in this BBC effort; Romola Garai, Iain Glen, Pascal Fischer, Tomasz Studzinski, Anna Schumacher co-star. 88 min. Widescreen; Soundtrack: English; bonus documentary "The Windemere Children: In Their Own Words" (2020). Two-disc set.
R**.
Great story but poor quality soundtrack and subtitles
The good news: This is a very inspiring story about Jewish children who were transferred from Germany to the UK during the time of the Holocaust. There are lots of nice touches, indications of tenderness by the British people responsible for them as well as incidents of the trauma the children felt and how, even in a new environment, that trauma had to be overcome. Much tenderness and firmness in the work of those who tried to help them and courage and sweetness in the children.HOWEVER , the children speak in German and so subtitles are useful. These subtitles go by so quickly that it's hard to keep up with them. In some cases, I've had to just guess at what was said. It is too bad that such a worthy project is reduced in quality by this oversight. IF the subtitle problem were not there, I would have given it 5 stars because the story is compelling and worthy to be told.
D**R
An important story, told compellingly
We alternated between crying and clapping while watching this excellent DVD. To know it was largely based on real history makes it all the more poignant. The acting was spot on! as the Brits say. Much self-examination forces itself into the viewer's mind and heart. Since purchasing this DVD, I've twice watched the whole story again twice on PBS.I find myself putting myself into the situations of the staff, teachers, boys, girls and even townspeople as I watch. Ialso find myself praying that this kind of story is not often repeated today.
R**B
Very emitional
An excellent story portrayed very well.
C**A
a wonderful true story!!
I had never heard about these children. It was so good and so glad to learn about something positive during this time period.
P**S
excellent firm
The film was wonderful; but the surprise came on the second Disc. It was the children themselves talking about Windemere. That made it especially moving nd read.
C**R
Extraordinary story well told .Everyone should see this.
This was beyond touching. Everyone should see this. Be sure to watch both disks. The first is a well-written & acted dramatic version. The second is the survivors in their own words. Can’t recommend this highly enough.
J**N
Windermere Children shows what happened to child survivors of the Holocaust.
The Windermere Children’s story was a valuable insight into the aftermath of the Holocaust and how the children were reintroduced to life beyond concentration camps.
B**U
this is a true story
I bought this because I saw this movie on PBS. very insight full of how children are affected after the war was over.
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