SLIFF 2010 Review: PRISONER OF HER PAST

PRISONER OF HER PAST is a documentary about a son’s journey to discover the truth about his mother’s youth as a holocaust survivor.  Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune Jazz critic, knows that his mother survived the holocaust but not how and or why. Sonja Reich was a somewhat normal functioning person until she ran out of her house, suitcase in hand, one night insisting that someone was going to shoot her in the head. Sonja Reich ends up in a nursing home and she is reliving her days under the Nazis’ Regime. She is diagnosed with late onset Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Sonja is in denial about her life; she does not recognize photos of herself from a young age or remember anything about that time.  Howard Reich starts his journey to discover his mother’s past by seeking out relatives near and far.

Finally his journey takes him back to Dubno, Ukraine with his mom’s cousin, Leon.  Leon is also a survivor but he likes to speak about his experiences almost as if he is at peace with his memories. Her cousin’s family escaped as a unit but first the mother and then the father is murdered.  Leon and his older sister find help with a farmer and his wife who take them in, nurture them and send them to school. Howard and Leon visit the family home, the ghetto and the point of departure from where they escaped from the ghetto.  Sonja’s mother sent her out of a window to escape into a world alone; not knowing who she could trust or how to survive but she did.  Sonja has never spoken about her experiences with her children.  They only know that she would check and recheck the door locks multiple times before standing vigil at night while they slept.  Sonja speaks about the past because it is now her present.

PRISONER OF HER PAST is a fascinating story of the holocaust and how different people survived but also how the effects can be seen many years later.  Sonja blocked the entire experience and never learned to deal with it, while her cousin, Leon was able to find a family that took him in a re-established the family unit.  The documentary is both touching and yet so sad.  The effects of the Holocaust for some have never ended.

PRISONER OF HER PAST will play during the 19th Annual Stella Artois St. Louis International Film Festival on Sunday, November 21st at 1:30 pm at the Plaza Frontenac Cinema.

5 out of 5 stars.