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Border Street

Richard A. Gair | Florida | 11/30/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For anyone who is a serious student of how the Holocaust is depicted in the media this is a must to see. It strips away a lot of the commercialism we see in movies and tells the basic story in a unique way, considering the time it was made."

A Marvelous Tale of Courage

Michael W. Perry | Author of Untangling Tolkien, Seattle, WA | 06/22/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a marvelous tale of courage by Polish youth, both Jewish and non-Jewish. In the face of Nazi terror, they stick together, helping one another despite the danger. If you've seen a film about the White Rose, an anti-Nazi youth group in Munich, this is a similar film set in Warsaw. The grim, flickering black & white nature of the film lends even more realism. Highly recommended.

--Michael W. Perry, Chesterton on War and Peace: Battling the Ideas and Movements that Led to Nazism and World War II"

Shows the lives of several people from just before the war t

Richard J. Brzostek | New England, USA | 07/09/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Border Street," a film about the Second World War, was produced in 1949 just a few years after the war finished. With the war being so current, it wasn't surprising to me that the movie avoided portraying anything controversial, such as the Russian takeover after the war. It stuck to some safe ideas, such as the Germans being the invaders, the Jews persecution, and the Poles sometimes helping the Jews, but not always being nice to them as well. "Border Street" (or "Ulica Graniczna" in Polish) shows the lives of several people from just before the war to the failed Warsaw Ghetto uprising.

One feature that distinguished this film from others about the war was that it gives attention to the viewpoint of children. In fact, the story revolves around the lives of several children, with some attention given to their parents. Both Polish and Jewish children are the heroes of the movie. They all grow mature and learn together with the fast instructor of hardship and war.

All in all, one underlining image throughout the film was that the Jews were persecuted, brave, and had a sense of duty to be with their own people, even if it meant their own doom. Although the film may be on the side of male dominance, such as when the father goes to war he tells his young son that he is now the man of the house and has to provide for the family, it was progressive in its view of females. One of the Jewish children is a spunky girl, who gave a black eye to the kid with the German roots before the start of the war.

Aleksander Ford, who is best known for his 1960 film "Krzyzacy" and is credited for helping establish Poland's international cinema reputation, directed "Border Street." The movie shows us some of the hard times the people of Poland went through and this film itself may even be a part of its healing process. Sit back and get read for an old war movie that may be sad at times, but also offers us some moments of hope.
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