Nicky’s Family, an Amazing Heroic Deed (Film Review)

NICKY'SFAMILY poster

 

Not every stone has been turned about the atrocities on WWII and the people who stood up against the Nazis to make a difference in the world.  Nicky’s Family gets released in the United States this weekend and the touching documentary reveals a little known event in history that saved nearly 700 children destined for  gas chambers just before the war broke out in Czechoslovakia.  The heartfelt film is inspirational, important to all audiences and necessary as a warning that freedom cannot be taken for granted.

Nicky’s Family plays out in documentary form with reenactments delving into how by chance one man can change destiny for children earmarked for death. From a scrapbook found in the attic of Sir Nicholas Winton and using home movies, movie news footage, snap shots and dramatizations we enter the world of Czechoslovakia in 1938.  

With its government weak and frightened by the invasions going on in Europe by the Germans, Czechoslovakia finds itself in a precarious position. Without their attendance the main powers of Europe sign the Munich Agreement in Germany. This allowed the Nazis to take control of the areas bordering Czechoslovakia dubbed Sudentenland that was mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans.  Thinking they were safe from the German onslaught, the county felt they could take a back seat to the inevitable war in Europe.  But, their fate was already sealed as without a strong militia and a government weakened by a loss of support from France and Britain in a matter of months Czechoslovakia was sucked into the Third Reich.

A woman gives up her child to save her life
A woman gives up her child to save her life

At the age of 29, the young British businessman Nicholas Winton took an offer from his friend Martin Blake to forgo a vacation and meet him in Prague, Cz on a special assignment. Following the Munich Agreement in 1938 the German Armies started invading the country.  Blake, under the auspices of the British Committee to help refuges in Prague was to concentrate on helping a special group of adults flee the country, among them prominent people including artists and political leaders.  While there, Winton was approached about the children of the country being vulnerable to the German Armies.

Throughout the film I was held emotionally mesmerized by several things including the easy takeover of a country that laid itself helpless to the despicable tyrants, the desolation of the people’s rights, and intentional castigation of the Jews holding them hostage to ridicule and fear.  I found the story moving showing how Winton used illegal passports and medical certificates to lay a master plan to get the Jewish children out of the country. Taking a chance at putting his own life in danger this man worked a miracle in getting 669 children out of Prague and into homes in Britain and other countries for their safety. Much like Schindler from the true story of Schindler’s List, Winton can only be called hero.  A man who unselfishly organized a rescue has made a difference in the lives of so many people who are still alive and have their own family trees.

Sir Nicholas Winton with rescued children in 2002
Sir Nicholas Winton (sitting) with rescued children in 2002

The film Nicky’s Family has a lot of heart because of its writer director Matej Minac Born in Bratislava, Slovakia who put years into the project. Using every shred of available information, contacting and filming the now grown children saved by Winton, and even interviewing Winton himself, Minac should be commended for what he delivers to the screen.  He nicely lays out the conditions of the era showing news footage of the German take over, snapshots of the children, and dramatizations of what Winton saw and the stories told by survivors.  Minac also includes excerpts from his 60 minute documentary on Winton called “Power of Good”.

Nicky’s Family has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains some disturbing material.  The movie has spawned a project called “Care 2 Care” urging every American to sign a petition that will get Sir Nicholas Winton’s name in consideration for a Nobel Peace Prize. Please go to the following website to sign the petition:

Please copy and paste this URL into your browser:
http://www.change.org/petitions/czech-republic-nominate-sir-nicholas-winton-for-the-nobel-peace-prize

FINAL ANALYSIS: A film about the power of good for all to see lest we forget. (A) 

Additional Film Information:

Nicky’s Family has received numerous awards including:

U.S. Awards

International Awards

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