Wednesday, April 2, 2014

April 2 - The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler

Today’s movie is a drama that has a scene set on April 2. I hope you will enjoy this film and watch it tonight.

THE COURAGEOUS HEART OF IRENA SENDLER          

Irena Sendler is a Polish social worker during the Nazi occupation of Poland who works to save Jewish children. Some of her own co-workers and even her mother question the wisdom of doing this. She meets Jasio Laski, a boy who smuggles food into the Jewish ghetto of Krakow and whose father is a Jewish policeman. Irena renews her acquaintance with Stefan who knows several secret ways out of the ghetto.  When social workers are not allowed into the ghetto anymore, Dr. Majkowski helps her get nurses uniforms and false papers, as nurses can still enter the ghetto. Irena smuggles kids out, places them with Polish families, but insists the kids must speak Polish and act like Catholics. This causes concern among the Jewish parents who are afraid the kids will lose their Jewish identity. Irena assures them she keeps a record of where every child is placed. Officer Laski says he will help Irena if she will get his son out. The Gestapo confiscates the funds Irena was using to pay for placing the Jewish kids. Irena celebrates Passover on April 2, 1942 with Rabbi Rozenfeld and his family.[50:35 to 55:37]. They hear a report about Treblinka and the Holocaust. The Rabbi’s wife insists Irena must get their granddaughter, Carolina out. Trojan, a Polish underground leader starts supplying funds from the government-in-exile to Irena for use in saving the kids.  They forward money and forged identity papers to her through her laundry. The Germans start deporting orphans and block one of the secret ways.  Irena’s mother has a stroke. The Germans start clearing out sections of the ghetto and deporting the residents. Irena finds and persuades Jasio to leave the ghetto. While trying to get Carolina Rozenfeld out she and Irena are arrested, but Policeman Laski saves them. Jasio doesn’t show for his escape. That’s because he’s been arrested and put on a train for Treblinka. His father gets on with him and helps Jasio escape from the train. The laundry storeowner is arrested and later Irena is also. She is tortured and sentenced to be shot, but the underground bribes the German officer in charge to let her go.  Irena is smuggled out of the city and meets Stefan. At the end the real Irena Sendler praises the moms who gave up their kids to save them.

A touching movie. Irena was a true Christian and humanitarian. She more than deserved her nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.    

Producer - Cameron Johann

Director - John Kent Harrison

Screenplay - John Kent Harrison and Lawrence John Spagnola

Runtime – 1 hour 35 minutes

Released – April 19, 2009  

Cast – 
Anna Paquin as Irena Sendler                        
Marcia Gay Harden as Janina Krzyżanowska                         
Goran Visnjic as Stefan                                     
Nathaniel Parker as Dr. Majkowski                                      
Michelle Dockery as Ewa Rozenfeld
Steve Speirs as Piotr
Iddo Goldberg as Jakub Rozenfeld
Danny Webb as Trojan

Copyright by Ivan Walters 2014






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