Paper Clips

The sort of documentary praised not so much for its cinematic worth as for the story it tells, this modest film looks at middle school students in a small Tennessee town who undertook a project to collect 6,000,000 paper clips, representing the number of Jews killed during the Nazi genocide, to learn about the scope of the Holocaust (Norwegians, we're told, wore paper clips during the occupation to symbolize their sympathy with those being persecuted). Paper Clips follows the school's efforts over several years, as reporters became involved, celebrities lent their support, and Holocaust survivors registered their thanks, with some even visiting the school to offer testimony on their experiences. Eventually, the town even acquired a railway car once used to transport prisoners to the death camps, turning it into a museum where the paper clips, along with other memorabilia, are now stored. Any film that offers Holocaust survivors an opportunity to express their personal reflections is valuable, and it's also revealing to hear the comments of teachers, students, and townsfolk (the school principal emerges as an especially admirable figure—plainspoken, energetic, and decisive). Yet Paper Clips remains a fairly pedestrian documentary that must be considered a minor contribution to Holocaust studies. Optional. (F. Swietek)