FOR THOSE WHO CANNOT // A FILM REVIEW OF "SAUL & RUBY'S HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR BAND"
The refreshing and poignant new documentary SAUL & RUBY'S HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR BAND tells you exactly what you need to know about this beautiful journey in the title. The two protagonists, Saul Dreier and Ruby Sosnowicz, are old friends and are both Holocaust survivors. After retiring to Florida, they formed a klezmer band, the "Holocaust Survivor Band," performing music that they grew up with in Poland. They play small venues like retirement homes, all the while doing something that truly makes them feel alive, and playing for those who cannot. Anyone who has seen them live can attest: they are one of the most joyful and heart affirming acts you will see.
The film starts with the band in full swing, but not exactly packing the houses. We go back in forth throughout time, seeing how they met, how they came to America and how the band began. Saul grew up in Krakow and had a childhood harder than any of us could imagine. He survived three concentration camps, losing most of his family members before he was even an adult. Ruby (whose full name is Reuwen) was able to escape the Nazi hold and spent most of the war hidden away by a Polish farmer, unsure if he would ever see his family again.
Instead of simply retiring, both men find a new joy awaiting them when they decide to form a band, which started, in Saul's own words, like this: "She (his wife Clara) told me—you’re crazy. Then I went to my rabbi…he told me also I’m crazy, So, my instinct told me that just on the contrary, because they told me I’m crazy, I’m gonna do it!” When the film opens, we see them both taking care of their ailing wives. Ruby's daughter Chana also joins them in the band and their biggest goal is to play in Auschwitz and Warsaw in memory of “the six million Jewish people that perished.” As they continue to fundraise and save money for their trip, they play show after show and we learn more and more about their horrid history and the strength they had to overcome it.
Director Tod Lending turns what very well could be the heaviest of heavy stories and turns it into a celebration of life, of a journey. Ruby and Saul are both wonderful characters in real life and the film showcases them well, showing their joy just as much as telling us about their pain. There are definitely tear inducing moments (the sick wives, the journey to Auschwitz and Warsaw, not to mention archival footage of actual concentration camps), but the beautiful journey that these two men have gone through shines through. With Nationalism and Nazi ideals sadly cropping up all around the world again today, their message couldn't be more timely. "We have to stop it. We have to stop it." Playing for those who can no longer join us today is one of the most beautiful ways to express that desire.
GRADE: A
DIRECTED BY Tod Lending FEATURING Ruby Sosnowicz, Saul Dreier, Chana Sosnowicz. Now playing in Virtual Cinemas and VOD platforms. For more info: http://www.samuelgoldwynfilms.com/saul-ruby/