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Kirsten Dunst, Brittany Murphy, Mimi Rogers

Executive producers Dustin Hoffman and Mimi Rogers present the truth of the Holocaust so a new generation can understand why it must never be forgotten. Kirsten Dunst plays Hannah, a modern teen more ...( read more  read more... )concerned with trends than history. During the traditional Passover dinner, she zones out as her relatives harp about concentration camps. But then Hannah passes through a portal to the past, where she becomes her own ancestor in Poland during the Nazi persecution of the Jews.

Director Donna Deitch provides an infinite library of Holocaust detail, re-creating the period with minute dedication. Haunting images, every costume, every hair, every light and shadow conspire to maintain a sense of desolate desperation. Suspense pervades as escapes fail and mothers with newborns are taken away. Only the magical context of the story, taken from the original children's novel by Jane Yolen, allows for a life-affirming ending. The performances may not be multifaceted but, considering the single-mindedness of the tale, the deep commitment of the actors makes every moment real and meaningful. Dunst seems able to carry a movie herself, and Brittany Murphy is mesmerizing as Hannah's sweet cousin Rivkah.

The message is powerfully direct, but the film avoids extreme violence in deference to young audiences. The theme is enshrined in the Rivkah's words: "We must stay alive to tell everyone what we've been through." Indeed, when Hannah returns to the present, she is a new woman, with a profound love of her culture and a religious respect for the value of all human life. --Lloyd Chesley

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70% liked it

3,560 ratings

Unrated

Directed by: Donna Deitch

Release Date: March 28, 1999

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DVD Release Date: September 21, 2004

Stats: 227 reviews

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Kirsten Dunst as Hannah Kirsten Dunst and Bittany Murphy
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Flixster Reviews (227)

  • dreamfaeries
    November 3, 2008
    dreamfaeries
    Nice. We should NEVER forget what really happened.
  • ileo
    December 10, 2007
    ileo
    A touching film.
  • woulduaskpicasso2sellhisguitar
    May 10, 2009
    woulduaskpicasso2sellhisguitar
    I don't know much about being Jewish or anything like that. But I still enjoyed this movie, it is sad and Brittany Murphy and Kirsten Dunst are great in this film.
  • FragmentsofMe
    May 8, 2009
    FragmentsofMe
    i was crying half way through the movie and cried all the way to the end. yes, it was that moving!
  • Soundsofmadness
    February 24, 2009
    Soundsofmadness
    No thankyou - Not interested
  • mina1709
    December 22, 2008
    mina1709
    so sad, but i loved it






    very sad, it will make you cry but see how the Holocaust was like...
  • QuietRebel33
    December 2, 2008
    QuietRebel33
    good, but so sad. i liked it a lot.
  • Merenwen08
    August 10, 2008
    Merenwen08
    Sad movie but really good
  • KellyRikDixon
    July 7, 2008
    KellyRikDixon
    4 stars is just what happens when you put Brittany Murphy and Kirsten Dunst in the same movie...
  • glittergirl0789
    July 5, 2008
    glittergirl0789
    saw it during skool... was ok... interesting and a cool movie

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  • which movie did Kirsten dunst play in,that was about the halocaust.  Answer »
  • What is the name of the movie that Kirsten Dunst starred in as a Jewish girl sent back to World War II?  Answer »
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