Did you people see the same film I saw?

As Good As It Gets

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

My main objection to this otherwise interesting film is that it lacks legal and political context, as mentioned above by another reviewer, and that it also lacks answers to some simple and predictable questions. We as viewers need to be informed about things that the protagonists knew already.Especially, I don't understand how it is possible that the two male family members who were living outside the cave and were the families' contact with food resources etc. were never discovered and arrested, even though the existence of the cave became known to the police. Were the police so obtuse? This question should haven been addressed and explained.We are also not told why it was so difficult for the present-day caver to spot these survivors, since one of them had already published a memoir about their adventure in Canada.

This documentary spells out the horrors humans are willing to inflict upon their fellow humans at the provocation of others! How neighbor can turn upon neighbor to destroy them is just beyond me. But here we have the living testimony of those who survived this sort of nightmare to tell us about it today.We should thank Mr. Nicola for his dedication to investigate why, what he discovers deep into a cave, is there. In doing so a heart breaking story comes to light. The misery so many suffered during WW2 should be told everyday to all who embrace the act of war.If I am not mistake at some point in the movie a statement is made that a priest or police told the townspeople to not help the Jews. Maybe I am wrong, but it is a statement of truth. What has a greater hold on the minds of people than their religion? The people of the Ukraine are mostly Christians. So are the Germans. At this time the Christian church had no problem with the destructive treatment of their fellow religious community members who happen to be Jews. It stands that way today toward whoever the Church deems unworthy of God! If the church had opposed this extermination it would have spoken out against it - but it did not! The Christians went right along with whatever came out of the pulpit.This movie is as much a statement against the lies of religion that deceive the believers as it is a story of the human will to live. Politics and religion are very happy handmaidens!

No Place on Earth (2012) is a documentary co-written and directed by Janet Tobias. This film is really three films in one. The first film is the story of an experienced U.S. caver (spelunker), Chris Nicola, who traveled to Ukraine to explore huge caves that he thought had never been visited. While underground, he came upon some fascinating items--buttons, shoes, combs. Nicola happens to be a professional investigator. He set about trying to solve the mystery of who had left these items behind. When he asked people in the vicinity, he came up against a stone wall of indifference or opposition. He received a few hints that maybe some Jews had (literally) gone underground. However, he couldn't get any hard data. Finally, when he had almost given up, he made connection with one of the survivors of this amazing story.Nicola learned that 38 Jewish men, women, and children had entered one cave, and then another, and had survived the brutal Nazi determination to kill them all. The men went out at night to obtain supplies, but the women and children stayed underground for 511 days! Many of the then-young people are still alive. All of them retain an almost photographic memory for what happened during the period. The second movie-within-a-movie is skillfully produced by director Tobias. She has recreated scenes from the period. (After all, no one was taking photographs, let alone film footage, in the caves.) The recreated scenes struck me as very realistic. Also, of course, before the filming began, the survivors provided the director with the factual information that she needed. In any event, the images were so realistic that it was sometimes hard to remember that this part of the movie was docudrama, and not documentary.Finally, the third film-within-a film follows four of the survivors as they return to Ukraine, with Nicola, and descend again, 70 years after they entered the cave for the first time. As would be expected, this part of the film is very moving and powerful. These people survived the war, they left Ukraine, and they came back to savor their victory over the oppressors.We saw this movie at the Rochester Jewish Community Center as part of the splendid Rochester Jewish Film Festival. It will work well on DVD. As I write this review, the film has an anemic 6.4 IMDb rating. Don't be mislead by that rating. It's a wonderful movie, worth finding and seeing.

"No Place on Earth" is a unique and compelling drama. It's World War 2 and the Nazis are moving into occupied Poland and rounding up the Jews and sending them to "camps". A small group realize what will happen in the camps so they flee to the local grotto where there are miles of underground caves which will be their home over the next two years. 38 people, from the very young to the very old, will try to survive despite lack of food, the unwillingness of their former neighbors to help, and the active pursuit by the Nazis and even by the Ukrainian police.50 years later, cave explorer Chris Nicola came upon small clues when exploring one of these caves, and he began a long time pursuit of what happened. Eventually he uncovered the incredible tale and even some survivors.The film is 2 films in one - the experience itself which is re-enacted and Nicola's journey of discovery. Interviews with survivors are interwoven with dramatized scenes, and at the end of the film, Nicola and 4 of the survivors journey back to the caves to re-visit their experience.The cave scenes are memorable, not only for the excellent photography, but the actors and makeup really let you experience the apparent helplessness of their situation.The film is reminiscent of two similar films. "In Darkness" (2011) tells the story of Jews living in Lvov (Poland) who were kept alive for over a year in the sewer system. "Kanal" (1956) is a Polish film about the Warsaw Uprising - a 2 month struggle by a platoon of 43 resistance fighters who made their way through the city's sewer system to escape a Nazi offensive. Both these films are well worth viewing, as is this one.