Category Archives: Holocaust Survivor

Wonderland (2020)

From MHz Choice:

In this romantic fantasy-thriller, a man from the present travels back to 1960s Biarritz and meets a mysterious woman whose destiny is inexplicably linked with his own.

From MHz Choice  you can stream the 6 episodes of this French romance. Each episode runs between 48 and 56 minutes. French with English subtitles.

Do not be dissuaded by the “fantasy-thriller” label in the summary above.  Most importantly this story is a wonderful romance story imaginatively  filled with atmosphere, music, mystery, intrigue, revenge, and love.

Jeremy, an unambitious medical student and jazz afficionado, working in the nightclub called “Wonderland”,  somehow transports back to 1960s Biarritz and lands in the original Wonderland club.  Tony is the owner of the 1960s club and the father of the owner of the future club. Both owners are played by the same actor.  Jeremy wanders aimlessly to the beach where he saves the life of Chris’ sister.  Jeremy is superb at instantly manufacturing lies. Indeed he needs to. After all, who would believe his story? Jeremy invents a back story as he is “adopted” by the very wealthy and young Chis.  Staying at Chris’ estate is Alice whom Chris hopes to marry. One of Chris’s motives for marrying a beautiful woman  is to spite his father André whom he despises.

Needless to say Jeremy falls in love with Alice who is, in fact, the woman in the photo that captured Jeremy’s attention in the future Wonderland.  But Alice is hiding as many secrets as is Jeremy.  As Jeremy “stalks” Alice the plot thickens.  At this point I provide no more details.

If there is any romantic in your soul then DO NOT MISS!

The Hidden Child (2013)

From MHz Choice:

Erica’s parents are killed in a traffic accident. She moves to Fjällbacka and discovers she has a brother.

From MHz Choice you can stream this excellent 1.5 hour TV drama from Sweden that does not seem to be part of any series.

Erica is married to a policeman. After they and their baby move to Fjällbacka, her husband joins the force. She is a stay-at-home mother but when there is a murder she cannot resist investigating, much to her husband’s chagrin.

Pay close attention at the beginning to all the many characters. Especially note the group of young Swedes who become involved in World War II and are elderly characters in the present-day story. Once you get used to the complicated story, watching is a suspenseful pleasure.

Finding such a good TV film was just plain good luck! DO NOT MISS!

Phoenix (2015)

From NetFlix:

After a reconstructive facial operation, concentration-camp survivor Nelly Lenz tracks down her husband, Johnny, who believes she’s dead. Unrecognizable to Johnny, Nelly befriends him to find out whether he betrayed her to the Nazis.

On a NetFlix DVD in German with English subtitles, this slow-moving and emotionally moving film is somewhat of a mystery whose suspenseful element is what the ending could possibly be: did Johnny really betray her? Will he ever really recognize her? Will his greedy scheme succeed? Let me just say that the ending is PERFECT and quite subtle.

An adult, well-constructed, slow, sad film with just the right conclusion.