“There is no other power that does what a movie camera can do”. This line comes from a film that does not require effort to show its power. That’s because the subject carries enough weight. And the narration understands that. It is a 69 minute film that works with 3 minutes of footage.
The 16mm footage was found in 2009 by Glenn Kurtz who lives in Florida. It was shot by his grandfather David Kurtz at the city of Nasielsk in Poland. The footage is basically taken by a panning camera showing residents moving about their business while others stand shoulder to shoulder eagerly looking into the camera. Many seem happy. But the year is 1938 before German occupation.
If typical movies are about showing a story, this documentary gets us to think about the story. Its method reminds us of how narration with a single picture can affect our feeling. There is a shot of a blurry cobbled road. It doesn’t cut. And for a few minutes, we listen to an official account about atrocities that were committed there. They are taken from preserved records from Polish and German sides. It will conjure images of mud, people, fear, and the reasons behind the fear. We are filled with indignation while staring at a still shot of a road. Later we learn that most of the people in that town had not survived the Holocaust.
But the documentary is not all about suffering. It takes time to discuss how the town was identified, the buildings, and the religion. It also identifies the people and who they were. And how an industry that specialized in valuable buttons once thrived there. The research involved is arduous but equally fascinating.
And to cap it all is an excellent brief message of why a movie can be important. Time is always passing. Names will eventually be forgotten. But moving pictures, even if only three minutes, can effectively show people as they actually existed beyond the frames. The documentary is directed by Bianca Stigter and narrated by Helena Bonham Carter and Glenn Kurtz.
A Motion Picture Site 