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"Eva Mozes Kor
Forgives You" |
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Directed by Bob
Hercules, Cheri Pugh
Starring Eva Mozes Kor,
The Kor Family, Dr. Hans
Munch
Distributed by First Run -
2006 - 82mins - Rated NR |
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Richard Propes'
Review
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B- |
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Could you forgive someone who murdered your family? |
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Eva Mozes Kor forgives
you.
It very likely doesn't matter how you've wronged her...lied to her?
She'll likely forgive you. Sworn at her? I'm pretty sure she'll
forgive you. Stolen from her? She may seek justice, but she's almost
sure to forgive.
The truth is that Eva Mozes Kor believes in forgiveness, perhaps more
than anything else in life.
Her commitment to forgiveness is so radical that Kor, a former
Mengele's twin and survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp, made
the conscious and controversial decision to forgive the Nazis for what
they'd done to her and her twin sister along with the other members of
her family who did not survive life in Auschwitz.
This conscious act of forgiveness, sealed in history during the 50th
anniversary of Kor's liberation from Auschwitz, has infuriated the
vast majority of members of "Mengele's Twins," a holocaust survivor
organization Kor founded.
Kor, a longtime American citizen and real estate agent in Terre Haute,
Indiana didn't always forgive. She simply reached the point, several
years into her work with "Mengele's Twins," where she realized that
she would always be a victim of her past unless she found a way to let
go.
Forgiveness has been her way.
Her first experience with the act of forgiveness came with her visit
to Dr. Hans Munch, a former Nazi physician who is the only known SS
Officer to be acquitted of charges during post-World War II war crime
trials. Munch, who knew Mengele but did not work with him, was
acquitted because of the testimony of many Jews that he had, in fact,
saved many lives in his role as an SS Officer and physician. When Kor
met with Munch, she was immediately struck by his humility and his
humanity. When he agreed to sign, publicly at Auschwitz, an apology
for his actions during the holocause, this became Kor's first glimpse
at the power of forgiveness to heal herself and others.
Since those early experiences on the path to forgiveness, Kor has been
both challenged and celebrated. She's been attacked by fellow
survivors, Jewish scholars and others regarding her uncompromising
approach towards forgiveness, however, just as many defend her
vigorously and admire greatly her steadfast devotion to survivors and
to the cause of forgiveness.
In "Forgiving Dr. Mengele," filmmakers Bob Hercules and Cheryl Pugh
present Eva with a great amount of reverence surrounded by a layer of
humility, hypocrisy and humor.
From a technical point of view, "Forgiving Dr. Mengele" is a very
average, ordinary documentary feature. The filmmakers utilize
significant archival footage of the holocaust, interspersed with
footage ranging from Kor's work as a realtor, Kor's public
presentations, interviews of those supporting and admonishing Kor and
far too many shots of Kor walking along the grounds of Auschwitz with
her dour affect.
As much as it is clear that the filmmakers have a deep respect for Kor,
they aren't hesitant to show Kor in a very human light. Kor, for
example, is clearly unable to forgive Palestinian aggression in Israel
(where Kor spent her childhood years). An encounter with Palestinians,
in which Kor believed she would be discussing a children's book to
help bridge the gap between Palestinians and Israeli's, instead turns
into an hours long therapy session for the Palestinians in which Kor
is repeatedly attacked for Israeli transgressions. Kor responds
defiantly and not, well, forgivingly.
Yet, it is precisely this humanness in Kor that makes her most
appealing. Virtually every religious, social and historical scholar
will acknowledge that forgiveness is much more a journey and not a
destination. Kor, in her commitment to forgiveness, is clearly on a
journey that has both peaks and valleys. Kor, who started a holocaust
museum in Terre Haute, is seemingly most challenged when the museum
was burned to the ground by an arsonist in 2003...Kor, in her true and
authentic fashion acknowledges being unable to forgive in that moment.
Yet, she says she does not hate them, it just brings her great
sadness. The museum was rebuilt in 2005 in a nearby location.
While Pugh and Hercules have done a marvelous job in documenting the
ups and downs of Kor's forgiveness journey, the actual presentation of
the story is remarkably plain and often feels staged during Kor's
presentations and confrontations. While this staginess doesn't
eliminate the power of Kor's testimony, it does mute it. Kor's story
is so powerful on its own, that a film simply following her without
all the staged conversations and confrontations would have been far
more powerful and memorable.
While neither "Forgiving Dr. Mengele" nor its subject, Eva Mozes Kor,
are perfect, they are inspirational, memorable and heartwarming.
Many have said that forgiveness is the essential ingredient in
healing...for Eva Mozes Kor it isn't about forgiving and forgetting.
It's about forgiving, reclaiming one's life and refusing, absolutely
refusing, to ever be a victim again.
"Forgiving Dr. Mengele" is currently screening at the 2006 Heartland
Film Festival in Indianapolis where it received a Crystal Heart Award. |
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© Written by Richard Propes -
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TC Candler's Comment
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Jacob Hall's
Comment
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