Lauf Junge lauf (2013) Reviews

• Run Boy Run, and keep running

  Red-1252014-08-15

  Lauf Junge lauf (2013) is a German/Polish film shown in the US with the title "Run Boy Run." It was directed by Pepe Danquart. The movie tells the harrowing story of Srulik, a Jewish boy who escapes the Warsaw ghetto and survives--by using his wits and his courage--in rural Poland. Kamil Tkacz brilliantly plays Srulik. (Srulik changes his name to Jurek Staniak in order to pass as a Gentile.) There really was a Srulik, so this film is partially a documentary. It's not an easy film to watch, because Srulik's life is horribly difficult, and every respite is followed by yet another near-death experience. The Poles Srulik meets range from evil (turning him over to the Germans for a reward) to neutral, to wonderful. In fact, the actions of the Polish people Surlik encounters make up the bulk of the story. However, ever present, even off-screen, is the huge evil of the Holocaust. It's hard to believe that the occupying Germans would spend so much time and energy trying to catch one young Jewish boy, but that was the reality. Srulik was never safe. He was safer or less safe, but never truly safe. I think this extraordinary film is worth seeking out and watching. It will work well on DVD, but we were fortunate enough to see it at the excellent Dryden Theatre, as part of the superb Rochester Jewish Film Festival. P.S. As I write this review, Run Boy Run carries a dismal 6.5 IMDb rating. I think that's because the film has so many bad moments, and so few truly happy ones. Still, it's an excellent movie, and, in my opinion, deserves a much higher rating.

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• Haunting WWII survival drama with serious religious undercurrents

  paul-allaer2014-06-27

  "Run, Boy, Run" (2013 release from Germany/Poland; 113 min.; original title "Lauf, Junge, Lauf") brings the fictional story of a young Jewish boy in Poland. As the movie opens, we are told that it is "Winter 1942/43" and we see a boy wondering the harsh and snowy countryside, barely surviving. Eventually he gets taken in by a catholic woman, who decides that in order for the boy to survive, he needs to assimilate into becoming a 'regular' Polish (read: catholic) boy, sporting a Polish name (Jurek, instead of Srulik). When things eventually gets too risky, with the German occupation forces becoming ever more intrusive, she has no choice but to send the boy away, and he must look for new shelter. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out. Couple of comments: first, the movie is based on the acclaimed (and prize winning) novel of the same name by Uri Orlev in the early 2000s. Given the topic of the novel, and the acclaim it got, it's surprising in a way that it took this long for it to be adapted for the big screen. Second, this is not an easy movie to watch, as the young boy encounters his share of troubles, and then some. Just when you think it can't get any more challenging, it does! Of course it makes for dramatic cinema. Third, apart the immediate challenges of the day-to-say survival of the boy, there are some further serious undertones as to the boy's Jewish identity: if you 'study' to act like a catholic in order to survive, and you live and breathe Catholicism, does a person's Jewish identity become endangered at some point? Fourth, special kudos to the movie's photography, as the forests and countryside look absolutely beautiful, both in winter and in summer time. Last but not least, the movie features a gorgeous orchestral soundtrack, composed by Stéphane Moucha. Bottom line: "Run, Boy, Run" is not exactly the type of movie that makes you think 'that was a jolly good time!" as you leave the theater. But it IS a movie that will stay with you long afterwards. And the young boy who plays the Srulik/Jurek character is fantastic. I saw this movie recently at the 2014 Jewish & Israeli Film Festival (Summer Series) here in Cincinnati, and the screening was very well attended. I certainly hope that this will get a proper DVD release in the US. "Run, Boy, Run" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

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• Emotional Journey of the Human Spirit

  alexisflanegan2016-05-26

  This film is available on Netflix, it does have subtitles, but that makes this story that much better. The young actors who play Srulik/Jurek did an absolutely amazing job and perfectly captured the raw emotion, pain and suffering that Yoram Friedman must have felt during the 3 years spent fleeing Germans in the Polish countryside. If not mentioned above, this film is based on a true story and is said to be 90% accurate, the end of the film features a clip from Yoram himself. I highly recommend this film as it portrays war and the suffering of Jews during WWII from a child's perspective. I was left in tears and just wanting to hug Srulik at the end, this film will definitely stay with me for a very long time.

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• Excellent story of courage and survival of young Polish Jew during WWII

  randall-3-5623432014-10-25

  I didn't know what to expect when I got tickets to see this flick at the Scottsdale Film Festival in October, 2014, but I was overwhelmingly surprised at how powerful of a film this was. I gave it five stars (5/5) at the festival. This story is one of moral courage and sheer survival of a young Polish Jew during WWII. By chance and cleverness he escapes the Nazi camps and purges, but not without great cost and sacrifice. Along the way he learns there are some people who cared enough about doing what was right to stand against the evil German juggernaut, and risk their own lives to help those in desperate need. It has now been 70 years since the world was immersed in a terrific battle of good versus evil, and films like this help us to remember how it was back then, lest we forget, and think it never really happened, or could never happen again.

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• Haunting, memorizing, horrifying film beautifully done

  lexisgram2016-05-26

  I starting watching this film on Netflix and was about to turn it off when I saw the sub-titles. I really don't like to have to read them. I prefer movies I watch to be in English but I just couldn't turn it off. I was immediately drawn in and didn't mind the sub-titles at all. There wasn't not a lot of dialog anyway. This film is so beautifully done, the story, the music and the time period in history. It is a heartbreaking series of events. The young boy's acting is superb and you feel as if you are right there with him as he struggles to survive in the cruel world of the Holocaust. It is far from happy but definitely worth watching. I recommend this movie. It will stay with me for a long time.

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