By Donald H. Harrison in San Diego
An independent film, The Optimist, opens on Wednesday, March 11, in over 700 theaters nationwide. It tells the story of Theresienstadt-and- Auschwitz survivor Herbert Heller (Stephen Lang) recounting his Holocaust experiences after 60 years of keeping silent.
Herbert, a Marin County, California, toy store owner, was prompted to reveal his story after a terminally ill prognosis drove him to a psychological healing center where he met a troubled, bullied, and depressed teenage girl, Abbey (Elsie Fisher).
Always a friend of youngsters, Herbert makes a deal with Abbey. He will reveal his secret if she tells him hers. He goes first and prompted by her shyly asked questions is subjected to a series of painful flashbacks in which his younger self is played by Luke David Blumm.
The movie examines Herbert’s boyhood in Prague, Czechoslovakia, from the time of the German Nazis’ takeover of the country to his well-to-do family’s experiences in the camps, culminating in the deaths of his older brother and father and his postwar reunification with his mother. Luke David Blumm, a child actor, does a superb job portraying Herbert’s initial bewilderment over a world gone insane and later his role in the camps as a favored errand boy.
Stephen Lang brilliantly portrays Herbert in his later life, whose family does not know of his Holocaust experiences, a situation symbolized by Herbert’s scarring of his Auschwitz tattoo so that it has become unrecognizable.
Elsie Fisher is marvelous as Abbey, whose relationship with her nuclear family likewise is non-communicative, especially after Abbey discovers that her father is having an extramarital affair.
Sharing their stories, the two gradually develop the relationship of a caring, responsible adult who becomes a trusted father figure to an emotionally stunted teenager.
After telling his story to Abbey, Herbert goes on to lecture about the Holocaust at schools and public forums until death takes him. If I have one criticism of the movie, it does not follow Abbey’s life as closely.
Co-producer Jeanine Thomas spent her own money to film Herbert’s story with high production values. The film was written and directed by Finn Taylor. It will be shown in San Diego County at most Regal and AMC theaters.
*
Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World.