“Do you know why most survivors of the Holocaust are vegan? It's because they know what it's like to be treated like an animal.”
Being a Jew is more like a sin, followed by miseries untold throughout the entire life— this is how Charles Braude felt in the movie Betrayed, directed by Eirik Svensson and released in 2020. What could be a romantic drama filled with love and relationship between families and dear ones, the German aggression on the Norwegian Jews turned the upside down— replacing the growing love of a newly married couple with a disturbing story of separation.
If it was the end of the drama, then the viewers may find a reason not to shed tears— separation may happen anytime for any reason. But the breaking of a happy family and then being forced to assume this is what being a jew means is heartbreaking and I believe even the cruelest man wouldn’t stand the mental suffocation the victims went through every day in the concentration camp— be it men, women, or elderly people, the gas chambers didn’t discriminate even the newborn.
For the last few days, I am into movies like I used to 4-5 years back. Sudden sickness has given me more time to lay on my head with my TV straight in front of my face. Opportunities like these do not come very often and I did not want to be cooped up in my room and taking only my medications timely. So, a little Google research and there are plenty of movies out there worth watching. I picked a few, mostly crime thrillers, and put them on the screen to make the moment worthwhile. Betrayed was the last movie on my list and I must warn you, if you are currently in any sort of mental breakdown, do not watch this.
The grim story of a family being drifted away for no reason is disturbing to watch. Also, the helplessness of the Jews in the death camp and in the prison may upset you even if you are in the most chilling mood.
However, this drama is a bit different from other movies featuring Nazi torture during WW1 & WW2. While most other movies of the same theme focus more on concentration camps and the sufferings of the Jews and with numerous graphical moments, this doesn’t include much of those. Rather it focuses more on telling the story of a happy family being chased away by Nazi aggression, from one place to another— highlighting the attempt to survive against odds and not surrender before the devil.
The movie is based on a true story and the historical figures are shown accordingly. As the story is based on a single family, the other characters in the movie seem flat and lifeless. Also, the dramatisation is a bit off with a failed attempt to keep the story flowing, especially at the end of the movie and it feels like it was hurried rather than focusing more on perfection. Well, the Director might have his cause, but I am satisfied with it and do not hold grudge against the director for not paying attention to tiny details.
