Alain Resnais' overwhelming short piece on the horrors of the holocaust pretty much had me shaking by the end of the film. All of the footage- even the color footage viewing into the emptiness of the camps- brings the audience to feel a mass of emotions. More than anything, however, the narration is what hits the nail on the head. While it's only half an hour long, rather brief compared to it's dramatized contemporaries like Schindler's List and The Pianist, or the massive documentaries like Sorrow and the Pity or Shoa, I'd think that it should be required viewing for any mature minded person (not for children, it's too disturbing from my perspective) interested in truly comprehending what was really going on in those god-awful years in Europe. A+

I consider myself to have a fairly strong stomach- I've seen the results of traffic accidents and violent crimes, and like anyone else I have seen (via the TV) the horrors of war. But I was just totally unprepared for this. It was thirty harrowing minutes of a sight-seeing tour of hell.

It was so difficult for me to sit through that I was tempted to shut the DVD player off three times, but I told myself, "No, this is important. It has to be seen, if only as a reminder of what can happen when an inhuman world-view is fused to state-of-the-art technology." The Holocaust was far more (and worse) than simple mass-killing, awful as that is. It was a business decision, coolly and scientifically calculated, to destroy millions of innocents while reaping a profit from them- in death as well as in life.

The sight of the starved, broken bodies, the ghastly scenes taken in the medical labs in the death camps, the sight of little children being led by the hand to their last train ride. It is all so monstrous as to be indescribable.

I am glad I watched it. But I do not think that I'll be watching it ever again, and I give it a 10. It affected me that deeply.

This short film is one of the best ones I have seen about the holocaust. It's blunt and unflinching in how it approaches the horrors of the mass extermination of the masses--particularly the Jews of Europe. Although VERY disturbing in its imagery, it is important because death and mass murder SHOULD be disturbing. Technically, this was well-made--with an excellent use of film footage and modern color footage combined with very good (and not preachy) narration. Because it is so blunt and disturbing, it's best that little kids not see this and older kids/teens who see this should have the chance to process and discuss the film.

FYI--try to find the Criterion version of the film, as it includes an interesting interview with Resnais (the director). He indicated that the French government censors made him change a portion of the film to block out the helmet worn by one of the policemen who is forcing deportees onto the trains. Apparently, he was a FRENCH policemen and this didn't "look good", so the scene was altered. Although a fine film, distortions like this are very scary--as this is revisionism and contrary to honest film-making.