This film, playing at 8 p.m. June 10 as part of the Jewish Film Festival at Plaza Frontenac Cinema, is an amazing story based on one man’s experiences as a boy during World War II in Poland. It is a remarkable film—engrossing, touching and mind-boggling in its depiction of survival in the harsh conditions during the ravages of war. Yet many in similar circumstances, all over Europe, did survive, and while each story is unique, they’re all the same in capturing the strength and beauty of the human spirit, the kindness and piety of righteous Gentiles who helped, and the inhumanity of those who didn’t. Run, Boy, Run is the story of Srulik, the youngest of five children in a Polish-Jewish family, who escapes the Warsaw ghetto with his father and is instructed by him to adopt a Gentile identity to survive the war. When he is taken in by a kindly Polish woman whose husband and sons are partisans fighting the Nazis from inside the forest, she gives him a crucifix to improve his chances of survival. Among the many engrossing aspects of the film is Srulik’s conflicted feelings about his relationship to God, religion and the blurred lines between his past and present. We watch his progression, living as Jurek Staniak through the war years and across the Polish countryside, where he faces villagers, Nazis, Russians and, eventually, his own identity. Do not miss this film.
The Jewish Film Festival, of which Town&Style is a sponsor, runs from June 8 through June 11 at Plaza Frontenac Cinema. Tickets range from $11 to $15. To purchase, contact 314.442.3179 or brownpapertickets.com.
Should You See It? Absolutely. It is riveting.—D.W.
