It’s difficult not to be desensitised by the enormity of the horrors of World War II. Human civilisation has seen evil before, but not on the global scale of this war. By reducing it down to the plight of just one family, The Boy In The Woods makes the evil that man can do to his fellow man vividly affecting.
Max (Jett Klyne) escapes from the Nazis, but his mother and sister are taken away to the death camps. He finds a relative who helps him with his escape and to find a safe refuge. He hides in plain sight as a member of a small family on a farm, but when that becomes too risky, he takes cover in the woods surrounding the farm.
This isolation almost becomes unbearable when he finds a fellow escapee, Yanek (David Kohlsmith) and the two become close. Theirs is a life fraught with danger from all sides as natives in the area are incentivised to catch and turn over the two young boys to curry favour with their captors.
Even knowing that this film is based on a true story does little to relieve the tension. As you get to know the boys, you see them as extraordinarily brave but also as just two young boys thrown into an almost unlivable scenario. As an illustration of the depths and resolve of the human spirit, it is undeniable, and it delivers a real emotional wallop at film’s end.
The Boy in the Woods” will be available to Rent or buy on Digital at Apple TV, Prime Video, Google TV, YouTube, Fetch (AU), Foxtel Store (AU), SKY Store (NZ), and Neon (NZ). Own it on DVD at JB Hi-Fi and Sanity from January 28!
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