Search - The Island on Bird Street on DVD

Moving tale of the will to survive

Richard Street | Dallas | 05/21/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This almost feels like a foriegn film yet is in English and the actors have mixed accents. It is the story of a young Jewish boy in the getto areas of Warsaw during the German occupation of WWII. He is forced to become creative and resourseful to keep from being sent off to a concentration camp for a questionable fate. The mood and settings are very realistic and expertly filmed. The entire film takes place within a few block radius. Most of the ordeal the boy endures is written in facial expressions and sutle moments of joy and despair. The story is a moving testament to the human spirit in the midst of the atrocities of war. The sound track is classical in nature and builds slowly. The piano movements are as memorable as the violin solos of Shindler's List. A very nice piece of film making."

ROBINSON CRUSOE, SNOW AND WITS

Loves To Read | Twin Cities, MN USA | 03/07/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Based on a true story during WWII in Warsaw, Poland, it is the survival of an eleven year old Jewish boy separated from his father and uncle who are taken to work camps, from which no one returns. He has three things to sustain him: his pet white mouse, Snow; the book Robinson Crusoe; the promise of his father that he will return. The Nazis regularly patrol the bombed out buildings in the ghetto looking for stray Jews who may have escaped their clutches. It's survival in its most basic form. This overlooked film tells the amazing story of the imagination and wits of this 11 year old as lives day to day trying to survive against all odds. Ala Robinson Crusoe, he establishes a loft for himself in a bombed out building and uses every instinct he has to stay alive and not get captured. A fascinating story and well done film. Great camera work and editing. The many twists and turns in the story will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end. Strong performance by Jordan Kiziuk as the 11 year old Alex."

A Boys Got to Do What a Boys Got to Do...

Kenneth A. Nelson | Pensacola, FL | 09/28/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Finding himself left alone, except for "Snow" his pet mouse, this young Jewish boy is thrown into an exausting self-preservation mode when the Nazis are evacuating the Ghetto he lives in with his father and great uncle who are pulled away from him as they are being herded to the vehicles that will transport all the evacuees to their sure fated deaths in various consentration camps.



If he can only avoid detection by the Nazi Soldiers, the non-Jewish neighborhood kids/thugs and the ocassional path-crossings with others on the down-low. If he can make it through, what will he face next? What will be left of the world?



A wonderful story, superb acting and fantastic visuals to put you inside the Ghetto."

The Island on Bird Street

C. A. Luster | Burke, VA USA | 10/24/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Young Alex finds himself in a predicament when his Uncle is shot and his father hauled off by the Germans during WWII in occupied Poland. Afterall any Jewish children are carted off to work camps or death camps. He manages to illude the Germans and create his own island of refuge as he reads "Robinson Cruesoe". His white pet mouse "Snow" substitutes for Friday. His daily rummaging for food and clothing nearly gets him caught more than once so he decides to build his own treehouse of sorts. I highly recommend this movie. The whole cast is great in addition to Jordan Kiziak as Alex, we have Patrick Bergin as his father and Jack Warden as his Uncle. Based on a true story I found it compelling and fascinating. Good quality DVD with great replayability. If you enjoyed this catch "Joyeux Noel" and "Silent Night".



CA Luster"