Night

Author(s): Connor Campbell
Location: Carrollton, TX

"Night"

Directed by Roman Polanski
Written by Elie Wiesel & Steven Zaillian

Main Cast

Owen Kline- Elie Wiesel
Daniel Day Lewis- Cholmo Wiesel
Dustin Hoffman- Mosche the Beadle

Tagline: "What can we expect? It’s war…"

Synopsis: Mosche the Beadle was a simple man. Homeless, but warm. He was well educated in the Cabbala. All the citizens of Sighet loved him. Elie Wiesel was a normal child. His life was oriented around his religion. His father Cholmo was a respected figure in Sighet. But when the Germans invaded, everything changed for the Jews of Sighet. Mosche the Beadle was taken away for being an immigrant. He witnessed the most horrible things imaginable, such as babies being thrown in the air and used for target practice. He was shot, played dead, and ran back to Sighet. Upon his return, Mosche tried to warn the Jews of Sighet of the impending danger, but nobody listened. Cholmo assured the Jews if Sighet that everything was going to be fine. Mosche the Beadle was changed. No longer was he lively, he was a body forced to sit and wait for the absolute end.

When the Germans forced the Jews to wear the yellow star, Elie thought of it as how we do today, a monstrosity. Cholmo thought nothing of it. He said “It’s just a star; it’s not going to kill you.” How wrong he was. When the Jews of Sighet were forced to move to the ghettos, Mosche the Beadle fled. Nobody listened. Nobody cared. Then the deportations started.

Elie and his family were taken to concentration camps. When they arrived at Auschwitz, Elie and Cholmo were separated from their family. Elie and Cholmo were then sent to Buna. Elie questioned his beliefs. Where was God? What was he doing? Why wasn’t he stopping this evil? As winter came around, the work days became more excruciating, especially for Cholmo. In the moths that they had been in Buna, Cholmo had aged years. Elie acquired frostbite and was sent to the hospital. Meanwhile, Cholmo found himself on the brink of death after a selection, but snuck out of the line headed to the incinerators. The man next to Elie at the hospital had explained to him that he had lost faith in everyone but Hitler. Hitler was the only one who kept all of his promises to the Jews.

After a bomb raid at Buna, an evacuation was to take place. Elie decided to leave the hospital to join his dad in the death march to Gleiwitz. Days later, the hospital was liberated by the Soviets. They ran for days to Gleiwitz, only stopping once at a small village. Upon arrival at Gleiwitz, everyone spent three days without food or water crammed into a single barrack. Many people died here. From there, they were put on trains and sent to Buchenwald. Here, Cholmo would loose his strength and died. Elie never shed a tear for his father. He had no more tears. 2 weeks later, Buchenwald was liberated. Elie was “free” if you can call it that.

What the Press would say:

Roman Polanski’s adaptation of Elie Wiesel’s biography “Night” is a masterpiece. This beautiful piece of art is quite possibly the best film I’ve ever seen. Owen Kline captures Elie Wiesel perfectly with one of the best child performances I’ve ever seen. The depth of his performance is astounding. A child actor giving as powerful and emotional a performance as Owen Kline’s, you can’t ignore it. Daniel Day Lewis also gives an astounding performance as Cholmo, Elie’s father. He really captures the deterioration of his character over the duration of the film. Dustin Hoffman also gives a phenomenal performance as Mosche the Beadle, a simple man who tries to warn the Jews of Sighet of their fate, to no avail. Roman Polanski’s direction is among the most powerful I’ve seen. Certainly, he will win Oscar #2. Steven Zaillian & Elie Wiesel’s script is beyond critiquing. It’s simply perfection. And also, Night has the most beautiful score I’ve ever heard and some of the best cinematography I’ve seen in a long time. I see Oscar gold for “Night”.

FYC

Best Picture
Best Director- Roman Polanski
Best Actor- Owen Kline
Best Supporting Actor- Dustin Hoffman
Best Supporting Actor- Daniel Day Lewis
Best Adapted Screenplay- Elie Wiesel & Steven Zaillian
Best Editing- Hughes Winborne
Best Cinematography- Emmanuel Lubezki
Best Original Score- Thomas Newman