REVIEWS
Reviews
|
||||
Despite such heartbreaking stories as that of a mother who voluntarily removed her young child from a train to prevent her from suffering an eventual fate, Nicky’s Family is that rare Holocaust documentary that is largely uplifting. And it’s particularly heartwarming to note that its central figure is still around to reap his deserved accolades. | ||||
Although movie season for 2013 has just begun, I am putting "Nicky's Family" on the top of my list of films to see. Bravo to the people in this world like Nicholas Winton and bravo to the filmmakers who have brought his story to the screen to inspire even more to do what is right for the children of this world. | ||||
Nicky’s Family, an outstanding heartfelt tribute, inspirational, important to all audiences. | ||||
| ||||
| This movie shows humanity’s worst and best. It shatters your soul and fills you with joy! It makes you feel agony and then gives you hope. It shows you arrogance and then grace, and above all, the power of good cannot be snuffed out by evil and that true heroes really do exist. | ||||
Matej Minac’s heartfelt and very moving documentary Nicky’s Family profiles the man and the fraught time in which he pulled off this life-saving coup, fully capturing the excitement and daring of his deed. | ||||
| Scenes of parents who made a “Sophie’s Choice”-like sacrifice and put their young children on trains in the hope of saving them are heartbreaking.‘Nicky’ compelling tale of the ‘British Schindler | ||||
Minac brings Winton’s scrapbook to life with notable artistry, and the story the film tells is so inspiring and deeply moving, you’ll want to be part of this “Family.” | ||||
In “Nicky’s Family,” an engrossing and uplifting docudrama that blends historical footage with re-enactments, Slovak filmmaker Matej Minac tells Winton’s story and shows how his good deeds more than seven decades ago have influenced other humanitarians to become modern-day Wintons. | ||||
Relying on archival footage as well as re-enacted scenes (effectively shot in faded tones to match the era), the film is aswirl in torn emotions as parents – prohibited from leaving – yield their children's futures to strangers willing to adopt them in England. | ||||
"A story of triumph. No matter how far you must drive to see this movie it will be decidedly worth every mile." The Mackinac Center for Public Policy | ||||
„Nicky´s Family was screened for students of two international schools for about 500 students. After the screening, during Q&A, one girl asked the perfect question: ‘How can I join Nicky’s family?’ It was great!“ Organizers of International Film Festival Hong Kong |
Reactions
"The filmmakers succeeded in making intelligent, precise, and clear use of archival materials that were collected from many and varied sources. The archival materials were artistically intertwined alongside the historical reconstruction of this wonderful and heartwarming story portrayed in this humane and monumental film. The archives, the drama, and the testimonials combine in an unusual collage. The clever use of color in the archival films creates a differentiation between the Nazi enemy, which is painted in a cold blue tone versus the victims and their saviors, whose shades appear in warm brown tonalities. The subtitles appearing in the body of the picture aid the viewer to situate the events within the archival materials." (Jury remarks at IFF Jerusalem after the film was received the Forum for the Preservation of Audio-Visual Memory Award) | |
| What results in director Matej Minac’s finely done doc is a film richly textured with archival footage and photographs, dramatizations of key scenes, and, most importantly, interviews with now-aged survivors who wouldn’t be alive were it not for Winton. As such, Nicky’s Family is literally life-affirming, and a rare film in which tears of joy are the upshot by the time of the strategically paced film’s end. | |
Nicky's Family finds just the right balance between entertaining the audience and provoking them emotionally and intellectually. | |
„The part-dramatization, part-documentary film - peppered with old black and white footage, photo album head-shots and dramatic re-enactments, cutting back to the modern day with those who know him telling their stories - Nicky's Family is an unflinching emotional tale of tragedy, optimism and despair, of one man's defiance against the odds, from whom many could learn from.“ Kari Rosenberg | |
|
Member of the Santa Barbara Film Festival committee: The reaction to the movie was incredible. I watched it three times and cried everytime. I spoke to a lot of people at the showings and they all raved about it. It is a most moving piece. Mashey Bernstein
I was fortunate enough to have been able to see this documentary at the Boulder International Film Festival. I have to say we were all so moved by the story of Sir Nicholas and perhaps even more so by the stories of the children that he saved (and their children and grandchildren). Such a powerful example of how one person can make an enormous difference in the world. I'm touched by his humility and almost shock that people have found his story compelling. Everyone should see this film! Viewer at the Boulder Int´l Film Festival | |
An amazing film from every perspective. Poignant, powerful, and ultimately extremely rewarding. If you ever wondered what just one person can do to affect real impact on the world - this is the answer. Great film. The footage set it up and actually having Nick in the movie was terrific. I didnt see a single person with a dry eye as the move went on. You will cry... Reactions of the audience of the Santa Barbara Film Festival |
