Brilliant -- Holocaust: A Musical Memorial (Review.)

Juxtaposition is a powerful force when used with care.  In "Holocaust: A Musical Memorial" by director James Kent (first aired BBC-2 January 2005), the horrific visions of the decaying Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps are put into stark relief against truly beautiful music.

The film deals with the topic of how music was used at the camps, including interviews with former "members" of the Auschwitz orchestra.  In a seeming effort to heal this rape of music as part of mass murder, Kent films some of the great performers of our time performing in the very same spaces which once housed such unspeakable tortures.

While all very moving, perhaps the most effective performances in the film include a stirring version the second movement of Henryk Gorecki's Third Symphony, filmed between a stark abandoned munitions plant and a snow covered Auschwitz.  (Youtube video below.)  The final movement of this film sees violinist Maxim Vengerov playing a Bach Chaconne as he slowly walks through the camp building, through the grounds, and finally out of the camp.  The ensuing silence is gripping.

There are the occasional DVDs which merit a near universal viewing; James Kent's BBC special, "Holocaust: A Musical Memorial" is truly one of those films which everybody should see and own.  I waited for almost 8 weeks to receive this from the Auschwitz book store, and I suggest that you do the same.   Here is a link to the product at the Auschwitz-Birkenau bookstore.