Although “genocide” is a commonplace term, it is also of relatively recent vintage—coined in the 1940s by Raphael Lemkin, a refugee from Nazi-occupied Poland, who lost nearly 50 family members to the Holocaust and spent most of his life trying to persuade the world community to develop mechanisms to prosecute those responsible for such enormities. A substantial portion of Edet Belzberg's fine documentary is devoted to a biography of Lemkin, told through dramatic re-creations, elegant animation, and excerpts from his writings. This material is complemented by testimony concerning recent acts of genocide from four activists who struggle to put Lemkin's principles into practice: Samantha Power, the current U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., who speaks of the massacre at Srebrenica during the Bosnian War; Luis Moreno Ocampo, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, who issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for his military's actions in Darfur; Emmanuel Uwurukundo, a survivor of the genocide in Rwanda now working in refugee camps in Chad; and Benjamin Ferencz, a prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials and lobbyist for action against perpetrators of crimes against humanity. Belzberg's attempt to cover so much results in some details being skimmed over, but overall this is a crisply edited, obviously heartfelt treatment of an important subject, bringing attention to a little-known indefatigable champion of international justice. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD extras include an interview with subject Raphael Lemkin's family and friends (18 min.), deleted and extended scenes (15 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a powerful documentary.] (F. Swietek)
Watchers of the Sky
Music Box, 121 min., not rated, DVD: $29.95, Feb. 17 Volume 30, Issue 3
Watchers of the Sky
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: