Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport

2000 PG 1h 57m DVD

Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport

2000 PG 1h 57m DVD
  • Overview
  • Details
Filmmaker Mark Jonathan Harris's Oscar-winning documentary tells the story of an underground railroad -- the Kindertransport -- that saved the lives of more than 10,000 Jewish children at the dawn of World War II. Through interviews and archival footage, the survivors movingly recount being taken from their families and sent to live with strangers in the relative safety of England. Judi Dench narrates.
Format
DVD
Screen
Full Screen 1.33:1
Subtitles
English, French, Spanish (Neutral), Chinese Simplified, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese
CC
No
Audio
English: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Rating
PG - Some material may not be suitable for children. Parents urged to give parental guidance. May contain some material parents might not like for their young children.
age 14+
Common Sense rating OK for kids 14+
age 14+

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport, an Academy Award-winning documentary film, gives a human face to a small number of surviving victims of the Nazi Holocaust. While more than 1,500,000 European Jewish children were killed during Germany's ascendance, 10,000 were saved in 1938 and 1939 by a fierce humanitarian effort to get them to safety -- "into the arms" of willing English families who became their guardians. This wrenching separation of children from their families is intimately retold by those actual "children" in this film made more than a half century after the events that transformed their lives. In-depth interviews of the men and women with their vivid memories are enhanced by photographs, archival footage, and a thoughtful narration by Judi Dench. The overall concept is poignant and sad and a grim reminder of humankind's astonishing capacity for evil. That, and some of the footage showing the devastating conditions and emaciated prisoners of the concentration camps upon liberation, makes this important and moving film best for teens and up.

Sexual Content

Not applicable

Violence

No overt violent acts; however, threat and menace of Nazis' ongoing extermination of Jews, as well as separation from and loss of loved ones, are foundations of the film. Disturbing archival footage of the horrific conditions revealed upon the liberation of Nazi concentration camps.

Language

"Jew bastard."

Social Behavior

Celebrates the resilience of the human spirit in spite of horrendous circumstances. Acknowledges the extraordinary contributions of those who were generous, compassionate, and willing to undertake great responsibility in a time of unrest; one individual can change the course of another's life history. A cautionary tale that remembers great evil and the ease with which it spread.

Consumerism

Not applicable

Drugs / Tobacco / Alcohol

Not applicable

  • Age appropriate
  • Not an issue
  • Depends on your child and your family
  • Parents strongly cautioned
  • Not appropriate for kids of the age

This information for parents is provided by Common Sense Media, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving kids' media lives.

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