Max and Helen
Added 4/26/2009
"Max and Helen" is an amazing true story from the archives of Simon Wiesenthal, about a couple caught up in the Holocaust. Their love was strong enough to overcome the struggles of survival in a brutal Nazi work camp and the years of separation when Max was sent to Siberia after the war. But when he was finally freed twenty years later, continued his search for Helen and found her, he was in for the shock of his life. After surmounting so much, could his love now overcome a horrendous secret?
The acting by Treat Williams, Alice Krige, and Martin Landau are superb, but Williams' is even more so. I don't understand how he could not have earned an Academy Award for this one; the Academy was asleep.
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compassion trumps justice
Added 3/12/2007
the story is based on Simon Wiesenthal the "Nazi Hunter" and a couple who survived the Holocaust. This rare example of how the human heart can effect the scale of justice is a lesson worth learning. The movie demonstrates that to punish the guilty, one might have to choose to punish the innocent even more. This is the "catch 22" Mr. Wiesenthal finds himself. See for yourself how difficult it was for all concerned and what would you have done, if you had to make this life changing choice. Must see situation!!
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Luminous performances by Williams and Krige
Added 8/8/2004
This is a marvelous movie, which tells the story of star-crossed lovers who are separated during the Holocaust. It movingly depicts the initial innocence of Polish Jews, who were caught up in the terror of the Nazi juggernaut, as they experience the horrors that ensue.
The love of Max and Helen is tested by the horrors of the war and its cruel aftermath. When they are eventually reunited, it is almost unbearable to watch their wonder at finding each other alive. And it is a testament of their love, that they are able to eventually make a life together.
I recommend this film because of its strong emotional impact and for the exquisite performances of the two stars.
7 out of 7 people found this helpful.
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Made for TV... But worth watching
Added 9/17/2000
Although made for cable television, I found this movie well written, superbly acted, and very enticing. A love story that spans several decades, the video does a good job of using flashbacks to tell the story and grab your attention; and then never lets it go. It proves that even under the most horrific of conditions, love can survive! And also reminds you that some times knowing the truth doesn't mean you have to tell the whole world the truth!
11 out of 11 people found this helpful.
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When the truth is better left unsaid...
Added 5/31/2000
This is a film about the tragedy of war, and how hope and redemption can be born from the ashes of shattered lives. Simon Wiesenthal has never given up his hunt for the perpetrators of the Holocaust but out of compassion for three victims he allowed one Nazi to escape justice. This is a story about two young lovers who are torn apart by the Second World War. Max is studying to be a Doctor; Helen is the woman he hopes to marry. Both are Jewish and both are about to end up in a brutal Concentration Camp run by the sadistic Werner Schultz who thinks nothing of beating a man to death with his cane. When Max decides to escape, Helen chooses to stay behind for the sake of her sister Miriam. It will be another twenty years before Max sees Helen again. In the years after the war Max ends up in a forced labour camp in Siberia but eventually he is repatriated to his birthplace, Poland. It is only then does he begin the search for Helen and eventually he finds her, living in West Germany under the name of Helen Weiss. But the past has a terrible way of extracting a dreadful price upon the living, and Max is to find this out when he finally meets up with Helen. For Helen was brutally raped by Werner Schultz and her son Marek is also his son. Unable to cope with this revelation, Max leaves Helen but when Wiesenthal comes looking for Max to testify against Schultz, Max refuses, telling the Nazi Hunter why Werner Schultz must be left alone. If he testifies the truth will come out, and Schultz will know that he has a son by the woman he raped all those years ago. As Helen tells Wiesenthal, "What German court will deny Schultz the right to his son?" This is a brilliant film, well acted, well written and hauntingly crafted as it shows the brutality of war and the suffering its many victims have to endure even when the last battle has been won. Treat Williams is excellent as Max, and Alice Krige (remembered for her role as the Borg Queen in "First Contact") is convincing as Helen, Max's lost love. Martin Landau gives a credible performance as Wiesenthal, all in all this is a well made film that should take its place alongside the dramatisation of "The Diary of Anne Frank."
14 out of 15 people found this helpful.
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