The Boy in the Woods

The film is a powerful story of hope, resilience, and survival of the human spirit. There aren't many films about personal stories during the Holocaust let alone for those who were in situations outside of the camps. You can't simply dismiss it for not having as much action/climax as other films because it is based on a true story and adding exceedingly unnecessary plot devices and ideas takes away from the fact that this is the true-story of someone's fight for survival, especially as a child in an environment most adults couldn't handle in that era, let alone the 21st century. The film kept me on the edge of my seat and touched my heart in ways a fictional story never could have this genre. The actors, especially the main three did brilliantly and respected the actual persons they portrayed. The added bit post-ending with the actual survivor was a heartwarming bit which made the film all the more special. It is a well worth watching film.

The main stars, all three were excellent in the roles.

It seems that various young Jews who survived the Nazis found their way to Canada, and Canadians end up telling their stories.

In this case, it was 1943, and the Jewish population of a small town in eastern Poland (now north-west Ukraine) was about to be "resettled". Urged by his mother, Max, a 12-year-old boy, manages to escape, meets pre-arranged Gentile family friends, who send him to live with a farm family as their nephew. However, as the reward for finding Jews go up, it becomes too dangerous, and the farmer sends him to the woods, living with in a small cave with little equipment, surviving on foraging, and catching the occasional rabbit.

Along the way, Max meets and befriends a younger boy, who has also been hiding in the woods, but whose parents have not returned from finding food.

This tale is well told. The Northern Ontario location stands in well as the Polish woods. The boys who hold up the film acquit themselves well. My beef is that, over many months, the boys still seem reasonably well groomed, and their clothes not all caked in mud.

Where do I start? There are so many criticisms of this movie that I'm only going to mention the most obvious. The most glaring is the 'shaky camera syndrome' which will induce an epileptic reaction in the more sensitive viewers, but appears to be popular among the less gifted directors these days. Second on the list is the horrendous acting. Hard to take anything they say or do seriously. Next is the wardrobe. It appears they went to the local second hand bin to retrieve the costumes. Perhaps it was due to the budget; which apparently was bare minimal. Lastly; these type of films seem to be churned out ad nauseam these days, and frankly, are getting so predictable and tiresome.

It's 1943. Max (Jett Klyne) is a Jewish boy from Buchach in modern day Ukraine. He escapes from a prison camp leaving behind his mother and sister. His aunt buys him sanctuary with a family, but eventually he is forced to hide in the woods.

This is a true story. I wouldn't ask the filmmaker to fictionalize anything that she doesn't want to. It does lose intensity over time as he spends time in the woods. The story feels like it's meandering from one event to the next. The early escape remains the most compelling scene in the movie. This is certainly an important story to tell. I'm not convinced that it's a good telling.

Jett Klyne plays "Max" a 12 year old boy who manages to escape a Nazi loading operation that takes his mother (Katherine Fogler (Faigie) and little sister off to be executed and mass buried in their hometown in Poland. He doesn't realize that until much later. He manages to find his way to a farm for awhile then out to the forest where he manages to survive off mushrooms, fish, berries and the occasional rabbit all the while doing his best to avoid Nazi colluders who are all searching for hidden Jews to get the reward. (Goes to show the depravity of mankind during this historic period) Nothing questionable, no violence but it is implied, no nudity. Lots of murder and dead bodies lying about rotting. It amazes me that this kind of thing is still going on now. Hopefully soon this will all stop for good. A fine watch and historical as well, the last bit has a piece with Max today visiting those who survived with him. Enjoy!