Movie Review: I Am Here

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A+

An incredibly moving documentary film.

To state the importance of a film like this is impossible. This is not only a movie this is an important piece of world history recorded and documented for all time. It makes sure we never view any of these tragedies as anything we simply read in a history book, but as something that is real and involved real people. From here we can look at our world today with the knowledge of the horrors that hatred can inflict and the danger that is present anytime prejudice enters our world.   

Ella Blumenthal is a 98-year-old woman who was a survivor of the holocaust. In this film she tells us her remarkable life story. While most of us know what the holocaust was and understand it is one of the great man-made tragedies in history, this film is not about telling us those facts, but letting us go on an emotional and painful journey from the eyes of someone who experienced it first-hand. Her stories are incredible and lead us to marvel at how anyone made it through. She herself came so close to death that we become beyond grateful this incredible woman is still with us. While we have heard many of these horrors before hearing them from a first-hand account makes them all the more heartbreaking. Even though many of us have never experienced anything like this, the powerful humanity that rings through her words will stay with us and have an effect on us long after the movie is finished. 

Yet despite the tragedy of the story, this film is also a movie about hope. While the tragedies still hurt her when she thinks about them, Ella does not let them control her. She has a wonder family and a zest for life that many younger people will be envious of. She wakes up each morning, thankful for each day and thankful for the loved ones the surround her. She has a sense of humor and a strong fun-loving side to her personality. To think that with all she has been through she still has this side to her should give hope to all of us, who have been through much less. When I left the movie theater, I thanked God for all the blessings he has given me and felt an appreciation for life. I have never met Ella, but I absolutely love this woman dearly after watching this film. As film is essentially an emotional artform, a movie that has an effect like this should strongly be treasured. 

This movie also uses a device I have seen in more documentaries lately and that I love. This is the use of animation to tell of events from the past. Whenever a documentary uses live action recreations of past events something about it feels false and it takes me out of the film. Yet there is something about animation that defies this falsehood and makes these scenes seem more real to us. 

This is an incredible film and everybody should see it.