Marzipan Entertainment,
Eric Stoltz, Kate Connor, Lyndsy Fonseca, Andy Hirsch, Camryn Manheim, Brendan Fehr, Seymour Cassel, Johnny Pacar, Matthew Lawrence
Frank Stirn (Eric Stolz) became a barber for the U.S. Army and was sent to Fort McCoy in Wisconsin during WWII. Fort McCoy was also the site of a Nazi POW camp run the soldiers in the fort and containing captured Germans. This movie is based on the memories of Kate Connor of Frank and Ruby Stirn (Kate Connor) as she plays her Grandmother in the film. The family was in a precarious situation living just outside the walls of this camp filled with Nazi prisoners. It shows how as an American family living in rural Wisconsin you can still be affected by the war. Based on the true stories, life in 1944 was brought vividly to life in this independent film that shows an unusual slice of American life.
I was not completely blown away by this film, but it was very solid. This was well worth watching, and was rather interesting. This is the kind of film that flies under everyone’s radar, and that’s a shame as it has a lot to offer. Were this fiction, you would probably pass it off as an unbelievable story, but certain events in their lives are absolutely real, told by the people it happened to. The family is all pretty good, but Gertie Stirn (Gara Lonning) is the little girl of the family who makes a friend of a German child she sees across the fence. She also serves as our narrator. The film is simply, but beautifully shot, and the story is rather entertaining. I see this film out on DVD now for rental, and available from streaming services, so it is reachable, and well worth the time spent in looking at another side the latter stages of World War II. I recommend this dramatic true story.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
