WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
On this day, June 6th, 2015, it seems apropos as we remember the sacrifices and courage of those storming the beaches on D-Day at Normandy, it all stands as a sobering reminder of the toll war takes on all involved in it. In film, efforts like “Schindler’s List” and “Saving Private Ryan” especially stand out in their graphic and potent depictions of conflict and the pain inflicted on others, one of the ugliest examples being Hitler and the Nazi regime’s ethnic “purge” against the Jewish people. In Mark Schmidt‘s indie film, “Walking With The Enemy”, we are privy to another true story-inspired journey of courage in one man making a choice to save Hungarian Jews during the Nazi occupation.
Elek Cohen (Jonas Armstrong) is a simple man from a small village in Hungary, a country whose alliance with Germany has allowed them to be spared from Hitler’s advancement in Europe. But as the war nears its end, the loyalty of Hungarian leadership under Regent Horthy (Ben Kingsley) is brought into question, Hitler sends the Nazi army into the country, under the iron-fisted leadership of two SS officers. As the Nazi hatred and “cleansing” efforts against the Jews reaches home in harsh fashion, Cohen makes a decision to save as many as he can by posing as a German officer in order to penetrate the enemy efforts and liberate every Jew he can. With the aid of his beloved wife Hannah (Hannah Tointon) and others, Cohen strives to make a difference in the face of daunting and extremely dangerous odds.
Next, my Mind:
While one can say this film doesn’t carry the complete and/or absolute emotional weight of the aforementioned efforts above, let it be said that it still successfully and strongly impacts the viewer with its message, just on a smaller overall scale. Based on the real life of Pinchas Tibor Rosenbaum (the Cohen character here), the film moves along at a steady pace, with the building tension palpable as the Nazi presence and hostilities grow in harshness and frequency once they effectively take over governance of Budapest and begin rounding up the Jewish populace to be shipped off to the “resorts” they advertised. Brief images and moments at these are shown, and still make the heart sink and weep.
Armstrong plays Cohen with solid conviction, a family man pushed to extreme but needed measures to save not just his own family members, but then expanded efforts to the Hungarian Jews in general. Tointon plays his wife Hannah with equal sentiment, a long-suffering spouse who has already seen and felt deep loss, as seeing Cohen go off each time becomes more and more difficult. Kingsley’s supporting turn as Regent Horthy is in fine form, along with Burn Gorman and Charles Hubbell’s SS officers, who truly do embody the soulless evil the Nazis represented. Conclusively inspirational alone in what acts of heroism were accomplished, “Walking With The Enemy” is worthy to be added to the films that award those who strived to risk it all in the defense of others while in the face of total malevolence.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
