https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/08/mr-jones-2019-danusha-goska/"Mr. Jones" 2019-A new film about a forgotten genocide makes for inspirational viewingFrontpagemagazine
Aug 14, 2020
Danusha Goska
Legendary Polish director Agnieszka Holland has come out with a thoughtful, elegant new film, "Mr. Jones," addressing the 1932-33 Ukrainian Holodomor, or forced famine. I watch a lot of movies, and I've seen many addressing atrocity. "Mr. Jones" wrecked me. I fought back sobs, and also the urge to thrust my fist through the screen and destroy the film's slimy villains. Compared to numerous other films addressing humanity's dark side, "Mr. Jones" depicts virtually no onscreen gore. This is not atrocity porn. "Mr. Jones" is two hours long, and yet scenes of the actual famine take up only about half an hour – and it's a quiet, monochromatic half hour. This film most frequently depicts well-dressed, well-fed people talking. With just that, Holland was able to move me more deeply than many a more graphic film. In 2019, innovative horror director Ari Aster released "Midsommer," shot almost entirely in bright sunshine. Aster wanted to see if he could terrify people without hackneyed jump scares in old, dark houses. Holland has done what Aster was trying to do. "Mr. Jones" is a lowkey, polite, non-horror movie that utterly horrified me.
Don't get me wrong – you should see "Mr. Jones." The film offers you as pure a depiction of heroism as you are likely to get from a movie this year. When the film ended, my friend was more exhilarated than depressed. He said that "sublime talent" and a depiction of "complex events and the best and worst of humanity" impressed him so much that he planned to watch "Mr. Jones" again, and soon.
Historical background
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others," George Orwell wrote. Genocides are not equal, and some are certainly better known than others. When I type "Holodomor," my spellcheck underlines the word in red, as if it were unknown. I have to guess that most Americans have never even heard of the Holodomor. This ignorance helps explain why so many young Americans have a favorable view of communism, a negative view of capitalism, and report that they are likely to vote socialist.
Their view might change if they read just two short, horrifying articles. In 2011, historian Timothy Snyder chewed over "Hitler vs Stalin. Who Was Worse?" Ian Johnson's 2018 follow-up asked, "Who Killed More? Hitler, Stalin, or Mao?"
More at URL above...Poster's note:A long article, but worth your time.
You can find "Mr. Jones" "at the bay...", if you don't mind going there.
(I don't)
