- A story of an eight year old Armenian girl who is separated from her family and mistakenly sent to Auschwitz where she is watched by a Jewish Women scheduled for extermination." 1942 Nazi's invade a Russian harbor town capturing eight year old Klarisa Ananian's parents. The Family is transported to a Warsaw train station to be shipped to a forced labor camp. At the train station Klarisa is separated from her parents and mistakenly placed on train headed to the Auschwitz. Her Father Ashot fearful of her eventual demise volunteers himself to the Nazis and is forced to remove gold crowns from emaciated corpses. After a few weeks of horrific work he finds Klarisa and is able to miraculously gain his way out of the camp. Separated from his wife and infant son Ashot must reunite his family and lead them through one frightful obstacle after another. Placed into physically grueling, life-or-death experiences in which they are, pitted against seemingly insurmountable odds. Will Klarisa and her family find the resources within themselves to prevail against the circumstances and escape to a better life?—Joe Murkijanian
- Insight Hell On Earth is such a heart-wrenching film that provides insight into the torture of World War 2. Although this is a historical film, the writer has cleverly focused on the relationships rather than a premise. This story is really about a father doing whatever it takes to save his daughter and Klarisa surveying to tell her story. In the opening, the writer cleverly cuts between Ashot working in horrific conditions and proving himself in order to save his daughter and these scenes are juxtaposed with scenes showing Klarisa and Ella struggling to survive. This builds tension and provides a ticking time bomb effect. We're rooting for Ashot to make it to Klarisa in time. His goal is clear, his obstacles are clear, and this provides a driving force that moves the plot forward. The characters and relationships are the strongest part of this story and it sets a strong foundation for plot, which is the way it should be in a good script. The script follows the traditional Hollywood 3 act structure. The catalyst nicely falls around page 11 with Ashot taking on the job to help the Gestapo with the intention to save his daughter. The strength in the structure means that we're taken on a journey from beginning to end feeling satisfied with the progression and revealing of story and character. This film is categorized as a historical film and is certainly appropriate for this genre. The themes of this film are strong - misogyny, racism, sexual abuse, truth, greed, power, and politics. The big print tells us about the setting, action, and emotions of our characters and when it's nice and concise, it works well. There are many lines that are so simple, but say so much. Eg. page 90 - Nishan steps up behind Ashot and places his hand onto Ashot's shoulder. Dialogue is natural and conversational so that it flows with good pacing and makes the script easy to read. There are humorous lines that nicely cut through the tension. Eg. page 31 - KLARISA Please Mama not Harout. What about Michael? The ending was very cathartic, as Klarisa lives to tell her story and provides a strong message about God. This faith message is powerful and is nicely threaded through the script, nicely plotting Ashot's journey from skepticism to believing (eg. pg 50). This is a well written script by a writer with a strong voice. Overall the story is suspenseful and riveting.
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