Director and writer Steve McQueen has crafted a solid and very long historical documentary based on wife Bianca Stigter’s “Atlas of an Occupied City, Amsterdam 1940-1945”.
In the Second World War German forces occupied Amsterdam and slowly but methodically drew the noose around the necks of its Jewish population. Some 60,000-80,000 of Amsterdam’s Jews were deported with a mere 5,000 returning.
The deportations were not immediate but increased in intensity in 1942. Jews, political opponents of the Dutch puppet government, communists and Roma amongst others were harassed, beaten, murdered, executed and humiliated and the film excels in setting forth countless examples of repression and genocide primarily by filming in over 130 locations in Amsterdam each with a dispassionate if not hypnotic narration (by Melanie Hyams) about the fate of the residents of many of those locations. Through the stories the brutal mechanics of the working of a genocide are painfully revealed. For example, there were bounty hunters for Jews. Sex between Jews and “Aryans” was punishable by death.
There is no archival footage here just building after building in COVID era Amsterdam. Life goes on in the midst of the chilling narration footage of various current day protests. It is factual based narration showing no emotion. The stories recounted contain all the emotion in a “neutral way” of the viewer. The present-day backdrop causes one to reflect that normal life of pre-occupied Amsterdam was quickly extinguished as it could be tomorrow. Liberty, freedom and democracy are often tenuous. Would the climate change/anti-racist/COVID demonstrations have been permitted in occupied Amsterdam!
On the topic of COVID interpret the repression of anti-lockdown protests, no mask shaming, incessant governmentally announced “health measures”, mandated virtual events such as funerals and weddings, curfews, vaccine bullying, police drones, water cannons and dogs used against protesters. Forget the nature of societal protest and focus on the mechanisms of repression. Iron control of the fascists replaced by attempted iron control by governments for “public health reasons”. I’ll let you interpret the COVID tinged part of the film but I suspect it is in this documentary for a reason.
Be forewarned almost 4 ½ hours in length with a 15-minute intermission. If you are not a history buff then you can be an Amsterdam tourist exploring the city.
Theatrical release start in Canada on 26April2024 in Toronto.
You can watch the trailer here https://www.imdb.com/video/vi4157523737/?ref_=tt_vi_i_1
RKS 2024 Film Rating 90/100.
Set the Bar 