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Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport
Warner Bros.

Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 79 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.0 out of 10
based on 25 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 1 votes
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MPAA RATING: PG for thematic elements

Starring Judi Dench (Narrator), and Alexander Gordon

In an effort to remove Jewish children from Nazi territory in pre-World War II Europe, the "Kindertransport" sent children far away from their families to live with stangers, often never to see their parents again. In this documentary, the aging survivors and their rescuers tell their moving stories.


GENRE(S): Documentary  
WRITTEN BY: Mark Jonathan Harris  
DIRECTED BY: Mark Jonathan Harris  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: August 28, 2001 
Video: August 28, 2001 
Theatrical: September 15, 2000 
RUNNING TIME: 122 minutes, Color / BW 
ORIGIN: USA / UK 

Received an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the 73rd Academy Awards in 2001.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
At its slowest, the film has value as a historical document. At its best, the film gives a human face to stories of unimaginable suffering and unexpected triumph.
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100
Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
A marvelous picture and a highly unusual journey in and around the Holocaust.
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100
Chicago Tribune Marc Caro
Has moments of profound poignance, though it lacks the overall dramatic impact of "The Long Way Home."
88
Philadelphia Inquirer Desmond Ryan
A powerful and moving contribution to the cinema of the Holocaust.
88
New York Daily News Jack Mathews
Harris brings into focus a nearly forgotten success story, filling in another blank in the ultimate mosaic of the 20th century's greatest tragedy.
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88
Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard
A fitting tribute to these displaced children because it so simply and elegantly personalizes their place in the most horrific chapter of 20th-century history.
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88
New York Post Lou Lumenick
There have been many documentaries about the Holocaust in recent years, but this one really stands out.
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88
USA Today Mike Clark
Proves there are Holocaust stories still to be told.
83
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
The dramatic power, though, comes entirely from the eloquence of old people, shot in medium close-up, barely moving as they remember things.
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80
Film.com Ernest Hardy
A heartfelt documentary.
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80
Dallas Observer Jean Oppenheimer
Fascinating and engrossing on every conceivable level
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80
Time Richard Schickel
This moving tribute to a handful of candles flickering in the darkness has the power to summon us--one prays--to our better selves.
80
Variety Emanuel Levy
Heartbreaking yet truly inspirational.
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80
LA Weekly Ella Taylor
A haunting tale of the physical survival and emotional confusion of children who were simultaneously required to build a new life and hold fast to the memory of an old one, in the hope of resuming it after the war.
80
Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
To my taste, the only serious drawback to this absorbing film is Harris's unimaginative adherence to documentary convention, which obliges him to "illustrate" the voice-overs even when the material matches the narratives only in fictional terms.
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80
Village Voice Elliott Stein
It's worth shelling out to see this doc on a theater screen: The enthralling archival footage of Germany in the 1930s is rare stuff indeed, of superb photographic quality.
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80
Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Because Into the Arms of Strangers is as much a story about childhood as it is about the Holocaust, it's an especially moving and effective piece of work.
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78
Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Unfamiliar to most these days and it goes without saying that Harris performs a great service in the eyes of history with his film.
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75
Boston Globe Jay Carr
Movingly recounts a hitherto untold story in the voices of the people who lived it.
75
San Francisco Examiner G. Allen Johnson
Misses some creative opportunities to really drive this story home, but it's a naturally haunting story nonetheless.
75
Miami Herald Sara Wildberger
Documentary of riveting personal stories.
70
Washington Post Desson Thomson
Fluidly edited, subtle.
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70
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
Both informative and intensely moving.
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60
The New York Times Dana Stevens
Its subject matter is intrinsically upsetting.
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40
Washington Post Rita Kempley
Breaks no new ground.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

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