Out of the Ashes

Rating:
Summary: A Powerful Movie!
Review: A touching and powerful movie based on the true story of a doctor's plight in the Auschwitz death camp. You can almost feel this woman's terror and despair as she and her family were herded to the Nazi death camps. Once there, the doctor had to witness innumerable atrocities that would haunt her forever. Only her will to survive, and her desire to help other women kept her alive. And yet, even though she had courageously made it through the nightmare and ultimately found her freedom in America, she had to go through yet another ordeal when a government panel all but accused her of wrongdoing at Auschwitz and tried to ban her from practicing medicine in the United States.

This is a must see movie that will stay with you forever.


Rating:
Summary: A Dark and Moving Moment of History and Consequences
Review: OUT OF THE ASHES was released last year as a film for television and fortunately it is now available on DVD for extended audience exposure. Directed by Joseph Sargent and based on the autobiography of Dr. Gisella Perl, this film is about the survival of a physician (Dr. Perl) so compassionate in her dedication to her fellow inmates at Auschwitz that, knowing pregnant Jews were among the first to be cremated in the Nazi ovens, knowingly performed numerous abortions and in doing so saved the lives of countless women. As if her rigors of survival in the concentration camps and her loss of her family to the Nazis weren't enough, she immigrated to the United States for refuge, served in menial medical tasks until she was able to take and pass her exams for medical licensure only to face a panel of folk who declare her a criminal for her role in the concentration camps and make every attempt to prevent her from practicing medicine in the USA. How she survives all of this constitutes the message of this powerful film, but to divulge the ending would diminish the impact for the new viewer. As Dr. Perl, Christine Lahti (one of our most underused and finest actresses) gives a wholly credible, sensitive portrayal: her character remains etched on our minds long after the film is finished. Also in this excellent cast are Richard Crenna, Bruce Davidson, and Beau Bridges among many others in small but pungent roles. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: No More Fires.....Please!
Review: This biographical film relates the story of Auschwitz survivor, Dr. Gisella Perl, providing an important chapter into the lives of those poor souls tortured into unthinkable acts in order to survive during the Holocaust of WWII.

Dr. Gisella Perl (Christine Lahti) arrives in New York with tear filled eyes begging for a new life after WWII. Perl wanted to be a doctor from childhood; she studied hard and managed to open a very successful private practice in Hungary. Her only downfall ended up being her bloodlines and this very strong woman soon found herself carted off to Auschwitz. In a series of flashbacks Perl is examined by a committee of American INS men who are judging her character as a step towards her citizenship. Perl is seen as a survivor who at times may have saved her own life at the sake of others and she is accused of collaborating with the Nazi doctor like the retched Josef Mengele. In actuality Perl saved many women by sacrificing the unborn lives of their fetuses after being tricked by Mengele into submission and having to see what went on behind the walls of Auschwitz. Despite the horrors she witnessed Perl survived to flourish once again and her true story is one of an undying spirit.

Christina Lahti is phenomenal in her role as Gisella Perl. She manages to capture both the brokenness and the strength of this woman with equal determination. Many scenes in this film are absolutely gut-wrenching but entirely important. As stated in the film Auschwitz became its own country and the "rules of humanity" no longer applied. Under these circumstances many atrocities were committed by Nazi's and the Jewish prisoners alike...who is to say what depths a human being can reach under the horror of the Holocaust? In order to thrive in the conditions faced by the prisoners they were forced to either submit and then be burned alive or to calculate another way of living. Gisella Perl did just that. Despite how you feel about abortions this woman had to perform the procedures bare handed and under intolerable conditions in order to save the lives of women prisoners. She was forced under threat to assist in "experiments" beside Mengele and even went as far as saving a female Nazi guard from her own "predicament" without question. Placed in the same circumstances few of us would have ever survived so leave your moral judgments behind on this one. Instead allow this one woman's story to matter so that the ashes of Auschwitz and all of the other concentration camps never establish a foothold in our world again.


Rating:
Summary: Powerful
Review: This is a not-to-be-missed movie. Exceptionally moving and powerful. Lahti is extraordinarily wonderful in her portrayal of Dr. Perl. Ultimately, this is a movie about life, hope, atonement, and courage.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful
Review: This is a not-to-be-missed movie. Exceptionally moving and powerful. Lahti is extraordinarily wonderful in her portrayal of Dr. Perl. Ultimately, this is a movie about life, hope, atonement, and courage.

Rating:
Summary: Gripping, Powerful Story of a Doctor in Auschwitz
Review: This is the story of Dr. Gisella Perl and her struggle to survive Auschwitz and become an American citizen. Dr. Perl was born to a religious Jewish family in Sighet (the same town as Elie Wiesel) and struggled, against her father's wishes, to become a doctor. Although a doctor of reknown in her town, she was transported to Auschwitz along with all the other Jews in Sighet. There, she tried to save as many lives as she could. Dr. Perl also prevented women from being killed and experminted upon (and their children experimented upon) by Dr. Mengele. This sometimes required aborting the babies before Dr. Mengele could become aware that the women were pregnant. Although no movie can fully depict the horror of Auschwitz, this one pulls no puches.

Dr. Perl manages to survive Auschwitz, but after arriving in America, must take menial jobs in hospitals. Her story is told through an inquisition by INS officials, who question what she did in Auschwitz. The suffering Dr. Perl endured, the things she saw, and the choices she had to make are extremely painful. It is impossible to judge her actions without walking in her footsteps. Who knows how any of us would act under the same circumstances?

This is a remarkable story. Christine Lahti movingly and realistically portrays Dr. Perl. I agree with the reviewer who says that we don't see Ms. Lahti in enough films -- she is an incredible actress. This film is well beyond most made-for-TV movies. It is a must see.

Rating:
Summary: Christine Lathi Gives A Moving and Powerful Performance
Review: This made-for-tv movie by Showtime is based on the autobiography of Dr. Gisella Perl, a Holocaust Survivor who lost her husband, her son, and along with her entire family when they were deported to Auschwitz from Hungary in 1944. Ms. Lahti give a powerful pand moving erformance portraying Dr. Perl who risked her life to secretly perform abortions on expectant mothers to save them from being sent to the gas chambers at Auschwitz only to have her actions questioned later on when she is attempting to gain citizenship and be able to practice medicine in America. Ms. Lahti turns in an outstanding performance and this is one movie not to be missed.