Inheritance Directed by James Moll, 2006
"In a documentary world awash in Ken Burns knockoffs . . . it is good to be reminded of what the camera can capture that no amount of narrative or analysis could ever hope to." Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times
INHERITANCE is the story of Monika Hertwig, a soft-spoken woman struggling with a profound legacy left by a father she never really knew.
Monika’s father was Amon Goeth. Often described as a “monster,” and “inhuman,” Goeth was a prominent Nazi leader and commandant of the Plaszow concentration camp. He murdered thousands of Jews and other prisoners during the war. When Schindler’s List opened in 1993, Monika found Ralph Fiennes’s chilling portrayal of her father so disturbing that she left the theater more than once.
The fact that this man was her father is something that Monika still cannot reconcile. Feeling an aching need to come to terms with this legacy of hatred, Monika reaches out to Helen Jonas, who lived enslaved under Goeth’s roof serving as both his maid and prey for nearly two years.
In INHERITANCE, sixty years after Amon Goeth’s execution, Monika and Helen meet for the first time at what was once Goeth’s luxurious villa overlooking the concentration camp. It’s a brutally honest, gut-wrenching, and emotional journey that brings both closure and new questions.
Bonus Features
Interview with the Director and Cinematographer; Featurette on the Film's Score
More Info
Reviews
“Powerful…. Throughout, Mr. Moll illustrates the narrative with a remarkable collection of archival materials…. Then, just when you think he has wrung all the emotions out…the women jolt you again, describing how the wartime experiences affected their loved ones for decades after.”
- Neil Genzlinger, The New York Times
“The difference in INHERITANCE…is the formidable Monika, the only child of…Amon Goeth, portrayed in Schindler’s List by Ralph Fiennes…. Tall, raw-boned, with grim eyes and a steady gaze, this figure runs away with the film the moment she appears on schree…. The film…makes splendid use of stills and footage of Goeth—both in his glory… and at his end.”
- Dorothy Rabinowitz, The Wall Street Journal
“Fascinating.”
- Robert Bianco, USA Today
“A deeply moving film. So vivid is this film’s depiction of a dark past that you almost expect Goeth’s malignant ghost to jump out from behind a wall during a wrenching tour of his villa. But INHERITANCE is about other ghosts—living ones that can’t be exorcised. Grade: A.”
- Verne Gay, Newsday
“A remarkable story of truth and reconciliation featuring two equally courageous women. One is Monika Hertwig, daughter of a notorious Nazi commandant; the other is Helen Jonas, a Holocaust survivor…. A beautifully filmed documentary that is alternately shocking and poignant.”
- Kate Taylor, The Globe and Mail, Toronto
“The film’s truth shall set you free…”
-Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly
“…leaves you breathless. But words cannot describe it, or much of the two women's journey. That you have to see for yourself.”
-Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times
©2006 Allentown Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Photos by Don Holtz. All Rights Reserved.. Art and Design ©2008 New Video Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Marketed and distributed in the U.S. by New Video.
Posted in Docurama, The Jewish Experience | Tagged father/daughter, genre: documentary, History, holocaust, jewish experience
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