Prisoner of Paradise

German-Jewish screen star and director Kurt Gerron (1897-1944) is the subject of Malcolm Clarke and Stuart Sender's chilling 2003 Oscar-nominated gut-punch of a biography. Chronicling Gerron's success in the European film industry, his many rebuffed opportunities to flee the Nazi threat in favor of his desperately dwindling career, and his ultimate humiliation (being forced to make a Nazi propaganda film which depicted a fictitiously idyllic life in the remote Jewish ghetto where he was eventually imprisoned), Prisoner of Paradise explores Gerron's needy ego and artistic drive both of which often got in the way of his common sense. A brilliant and polished documentary that paints a vivid picture of Gerron and his living conditions, the film follows his international movements to stay ahead of German occupation armies (all the while declining invitations from Peter Lorre and others to come to Hollywood) until he's put in Theresienstadt (a camp for Jews of arts and letters), which was designed to dupe visiting dignitaries into pooh-poohing early reports of Holocaust horrors. Narrated by Ian Holm, Prisoner of Paradise makes savvy use of Gerron's performances in prewar comedies and dramas; more disquieting is the disturbingly cheerful fluff piece he made in Theresienstadt under threat of death (and to the detriment of his standing in the captive community). Apart from a few unnecessary reenactments, this is a standout among Holocaust documentaries. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (R. Blackwelder)