Red Trees (2017)

“Those who lived through the horror of the Second World War, those who survived, have had to live with great sadness. Perhaps the only way to do that, is to shut the sadness deep inside you.” – Marina

Number of Times Seen – 1 (30 Jul 2020)

Brief Synopsis – Documentary about one of the few Jewish families from Prague that survived the Nazi Holocaust during World War II.

My Take on it – This is a documentary that I came across about a hear ago and was curious to see what it was about since it had an intriguing premise.

Unfortunately, this film is presented in a pretty boring way that keeps it from becoming so much more powerful and interesting as one might expect.

The family’s history is explained to us via voice overs from various family members.

The patriarch of the family who was around 85 when the film was made explains his family’s history in the town and all that happened to them before, during and after the war.

He survived the war as a child and some of his memories can be seen through the pure eyes of a child instead of a more realistic adult.

We also get to hear from his children who only heard the tales from their father later in life.

This is a movie that chronicles the times that the family revisited their hometown in The Czech Republic and we get to hear about events and tragedies that happened in certain places around the town.

They tell this story in a very matter of fact way that lacks real emotion and that hurts things far too much.

They present things in a very monotonous way that makes things feel even more of a disconnect than one should feel in these kind of situations.

Bottom Line – Pretty mediocre documentary that fails to be as interesting as one might hope. The history of this family is explained through voice overs from family members including the grandfather who survived the war as a child and his children who only heard his stories later in life. The film chronicles visits to their family’s home town in The Czech Republic and we get to hear about what happened at various spots throughout the town. The story is told in a matter of fact way with very little emotion which hurts things a bit. The story itself is presented in a monotone that feels somewhat disconnected with all that transpired.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Based on the original memoirs of Alfred Willer. (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy (5/10)