When Bill and I are able to grab time for a few days of R&R, one my favorite things to do in the evening is watch old movies. We recently viewed, for at least the second time, “Judgment at Nuremberg,” “Ship of Fools” and “Hotel Rwanda.” I found it unbelievable the things I missed or did not see the first time. Did I not pay enough attention, did I not hear, was I just bored and stopped watching or was the horror too much to comprehend? I really don’t know.
Judgment at Nuremberg: I remembered more of this movie and knew exactly what horror it presented even though there was much I had forgotten. The movie depicts the 1948 war crimes trial of Hitler’s henchmen and some of the German judges and doctors prior to and during World War 2. It is a very emotional drama and tugs at the strings of your heart. While very long and sometimes a little slow, it is certainly worth seeing a second or third time. History abounds.
Watching it again was a great refresher. I saw the parallel of the German National Socialist Party to the Socialist leaning of our own country. The German people did not realize until it was too late where Hitler had taken them. By the time they knew what was happening, they were either afraid to stand up to him or they “hid their heads” in the sand. We, as Americans, must not be as the three little monkeys, “Hear no evil,” “Speak no evil,” and “See no evil.” We must be vigilant as to what is happening to our freedom in America and stop it before it is too late.
Ship of Fools: I did not remember or did not notice the prejudicial and preconceived theme of this movie. Again, did I not pay enough attention? The movie unfolds through the eyes of a dwarf named Michael Dunn as he stands on the deck of an ocean liner sailing from Germany to Mexico. It is the story of many people, their lives, their hurts, their fears, their hates, their loves and their prejudices. The film takes place before World War 2 in the early 1930s. Some of the characters are feeling the effects of Hitler and the coming war while many others are far removed.
My thought process must have been “turned off” not to recognize or remember a movie such as this. Thinking back, the movie was very slow and my mind must have wondered. This time the story had my full attention. The acting was magnificent and watching Vivien Leigh (in her last performance), along with stars such as Stanley Adams, Elizabeth Ashley, Michael Dunn, Jose Ferrer, José Greco, Alf Kjellin Werner Klemperer, Barbara Luna, Lee Marvin, George Segal, Simone Signoret, Heinz Rauhmann, Oskar Werner and many others was wonderful.
Hotel Rwanda: This movie is based on the true-life story of Paul Rusesabagina, temporary manager of the Sabena Hotell des Mille Collines in 1994. Ruseabagina was a Hutu and his wife Tatiana was Tutsi. During the Interhamwe Militia genocide of the Rwandan people, he opened the doors of the five-star hotel to more than 1,200 refugees. Using his influence and connections as temporary manager of such a prestigious hotel, he was able to save 1,268 Tutsis and moderate Hutus from slaughter.
The Interhamwe was responsible for approximately one million deaths in Rwanda during this short period. The Hutus were driven into the Congo by the Tutsis in July of 1994. Rusesabagina is credited with taking orphans from Rwanda to Tanzania to keep them safe. With the help of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, he, his family and other refugees ultimately fled to Tanzania. Nearly half of all Tutsis in Rwanda were killed. The Rusesabagina family now resides in Brussels, Belgium.
Could my vice be not paying enough attention? Should you think the movies I have mentioned here are not your “type of movie,” I urge you to try them or watch them again if you have seen them before. The lessons are valuable. As I see the socialist direction the United States is moving, I AM PAYING ATTENTION!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Rusesabagina
www.bleacherreport.com
American Rhetoric: Movie Speeches
