This is the Holocaust story that I dread to read or view. The one I know happened but winds me up into a frenzy of anger, sadness and concern. The one where Jews stuck their heads in the sand like ostriches until it was way too late to save themselves and were arrogant, ill-prepared and misogynistic and controlling instead of tending and preparing their flock so as many as possible survived and thrived.

They betrayed their children and themselves by these sad actions. However for us to pretend this didn't happened in the kaleidoscope of perspectives and experiences is for us to try to invent a reality that didn't occur. Emil Fish has insdtead and more productively made it his life's work to simply honour them and ensure they are every one is remembered with beauty and respect.

This film is limited by the Mr Fish' tender young age during the Holocaust and thus very limited snapshot memories that may or may not present the wider picture at the time but this does not limit its precious value as one of the rare first hand annals remaining of Slovakian Jews and Jewish life.

Based on actual events but portrayed very lightly. No real action, good enough for a stage play. Poor acting. If you ran out of war holocaust movies, well try to watch this. In other words "better than nothing"

It tells the story of small town Jewish leader Rafuel Lowy, who realizes his town's population is at risk of being sent off to a death camp Auschwitz. He designs a plan to save them from being sent to the concentaration camp. A true story of the events that occurred in the Slovakian town during World War Two.

After Lowy discovers there is no shoe factory and the girls will be taken to Auschwitz, they plan to administer Typhus shots on the girls to force quarantine in the town and attempt to save the girls.

This movie is a Holocaust story in the vein of Schindler's List, only here the protagonist is not a German businessman, but the Rabbi leader in a small Slovakian town. The antagonists are not German Nazis, but Slovakian police and soldiers who have been thrust into the position of working for the Nazi regime. Further, rather than a businessman come to a new place and dealing with new people, almost all of the characters in this movie knew each other all of their lives prior to the events of the film. Bardejov is also a true story, and the plot develops with a depth and authenticity that only a true story well written and aided by impeccable acting and cinematography can deliver.

The plot culminates in a shocking rescue no less incredible than the one in the Steven Spielberg classic, and the historical truth of it all make this movie not only a must-see for the casual movie-goer, but also a valuable contribution to any cinematic library of Judaism, history, and the Holocaust.

As a viewing experience, the relationships among the Jews and the relationships between the Jews and those around them grip the audience, sending viewers through a masterfully developed progression of character interaction. The type of breadth and depth of these characters can only come from real people in a true story as told by eyewitnesses who knew how to bring this powerful event to the screen, as this movie does very well.

I highly recommend Bardejov as a holocaust story unlike any other in that while certain elements of any nazi-era film are going to be familiar to the audience, Bardejov brings everything to you with a different kind of flavoring and emphasis provided by the unique characters and relationships centered around the Jewish community in its environment, rather than being a story about good Germans or kind Americans helping out the Jews. At this time in history, with everything taking place in the news surrounding Israel, the Palestinians, protests, and Jews all over the world, Bardejov is an important film to watch to remind the world of Jewish humanity, nobility, and ingenious perseverence at a time of impossible crisis.

Grab this film and watch it with some friends. It will make for a watch party that will have you talking for hours and thinking for days.