The atrocities shown in this true account that happened in the death camp at Sobibor, Poland are hard to imagine even though they are only actors depicting it on the screen. It stuns the mind and leaves lasting imprints. Told from the perspective of Russian and Jewish prisoners, it’s just another awakening to the world; as it can happen again by a dictatorial society hell bent on controlling their people. The production quality is magnificent and the acting brilliant.
The film opens with the arrival by train of Jews at Sobibor, a Nazi death camp. They have been transported from cities and been told they are being temporarily “relocated”. They were allowed to take baggage and personal effects like jewelry. Upon their arrival however, all of this was taken away and except for those with a trade, the women and children were separated from the men.
Already at the camp and working are Russian prisoners transferred from Minsk, Belarus. As the smokestacks and ovens continue to belch out the remnants of those being exterminated, Alexander ‘Sasha’ Pechersky (Konstantin Khabenskiy), leader of the Russians, has been urging his fellow prisoners to complete a plan of escape. Sasha is a strong willed man who knows how to fight, but the Jews are not easily swayed by him considering there’s never been any love between their countries.
Soon after the killing of prisoners as the result of one escape attempt, Sasha gets the attention of some of the leaders of the Jewish group. It includes Shlomo (Ivan Zlobin), a young jeweler, Selma (Mariya Kozhevnikova) a clothing sorter and Leo (Dainius Kazlauskas) who are brave enough to carry out orders and the beginning of a combined effort to fight their way out of the confines. It’s do or die for the hundreds of captives and there’s only a small escape time window that has to be perfectly executed.
Director Konstantin Khabenskiy moves his film along at a fast pace showing a glimpse of the extermination, the cruel Nazi guards, heinous celebrations by nearby troops, unimaginable random killings and forced labor of the Russian and Jewish detainees by the Germans. His cameras never flinch or pull away from the depravity and debauchery of the Nazi commander, his officers and his guards. It gets really appalling as the film goes on showing excessive beatings and executions, but truth be known to show how bad a situation the captives were subjected.
The acting is amazing and coupled with costuming, sets, uniforms, WWII Nazi guns, and other props, it all looks real and disturbing. In the lead role of Sasha, Konstantin Khabenskiy shows a lot of emotion, leadership, and takes a beating. Up for the challenge, every moment he’s on camera creates a visual of hardship and denigration as he depicts the punishment laid out by the guards and their officers. His character is credited with the escape of over 300 prisoners though the gates of the death camp.
While it was the only successful escape of a death camp during WWII Europe, not everyone lived to tell their story. By the end of WWII, most of the 300 had either been turned in by the area townspeople and were killed with only 50 of the escaped prisoners surviving, including Pechersky.
After watching Sobibor, I’m sure it was a tough film to shoot looking through the lens of the cameras and seeing the death and heinous treatment of the helpless captives by the Nazis.
Sobibor has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains grueling and harsh treatment, extreme profuse violence, graphic nudity, torture, rape and language. The film is presented in Russian with easy to read English subtitles. It was the Russian entry into the 2019 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language film.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A very vivid account of the heinous Nazi death camp. (5 out of 5 Stars)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Konstantin Khabenskiy, Christopher Lambert, Mariya Kozhevnikova, Michalina Olszanska, Philippe Reinhardt, Maximilian Dirr
Directed by: Konstantin Khabenskiy
Genre: Drama, Historical, Foreign
Language: Russian with English Subtitles
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, contains violence, nudity,
Running Time: 1 hr. 50 min.
Opening Date: April 2, 2019
Distributed by: Samuel Goldwyn Films
Released in: standard
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
