This is a haunting war drama that deals with the persecution of the gypsies during World War II, ironically after being told that they were as Aryan as the Nazis were and would not be sent to the camps. Horst Buchholz is touching as a gypsy violin player who is commanded to play for the Nazis yes must flee his land when he learns that gypsies indeed are being persecuted and tossed into the camps. Along the way, he sees the empty Warsaw ghetto, a huge sky of smoke over an extermination camp and a ton of atrocities where gypsies are violently killed in altercations with the Nazis. This is a sensitive and realistic portrayal of the gypsies oh, not in the stereotypical way but as decent, law-abiding citizens whose love of music and life in general is threatened by the evils of the Third Reich. The film explores their journey to get as far away from Nazi atrocities as quickly as possible, but everywhere they turn, there are Nazis somewhere nearby. Of course they do end up in a concentration camp, perhaps not as vile as those where the Jews are being kept, but of course, as time goes on, the atrocities and squalor do become more hideous and they are treated as nothing more than a dog who can be shot without regard to any human feelings.
A film that must be seen by students of war history, it shows how they were used by the Nazis in the camps to provide entertainment all the while being planned for extermination. Perhaps a remake of this could show a more realistic view of what happened because while it is horrific at times, something seems to be missing as far as the reality of what they actually went through. This also shows the Nazis in a very different life because when the gypsies are playing their music, the Nazis have a look of awe on their face, as if trying to atone while committing horrific acts by knowing inside that what they are doing will make them despised by the world and damned for all time. Even though this is a cleaned-up version of the reality of the situation, you can't help but be moved by the humanity of many of the individuals, fighting to stay alive and help each other yet resigned to their fate when they are caught behind the barbed wire fence.
A film that must be seen by students of war history, it shows how they were used by the Nazis in the camps to provide entertainment all the while being planned for extermination. Perhaps a remake of this could show a more realistic view of what happened because while it is horrific at times, something seems to be missing as far as the reality of what they actually went through. This also shows the Nazis in a very different life because when the gypsies are playing their music, the Nazis have a look of awe on their face, as if trying to atone while committing horrific acts by knowing inside that what they are doing will make them despised by the world and damned for all time. Even though this is a cleaned-up version of the reality of the situation, you can't help but be moved by the humanity of many of the individuals, fighting to stay alive and help each other yet resigned to their fate when they are caught behind the barbed wire fence.