''Triumph of the Spirit'' is a 1989 American

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drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Robert M. Young and starring

Willem Dafoe William James "Willem" Dafoe ( ; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. Known for his prolific career portraying diverse roles in both mainstream and arthouse films, he is the recipient of various accolades including a Volpi Cup Award for ...

and

Edward James Olmos Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Detective List of Blade Runner (franchise) characters#Gaff, Gaff in ''Blade Runner'' (1982) and its sequel ''Blade Runner 2049'' (2017), Lieuten ...

. The screenplay was inspired by true events, the same as the older Slovak film '' The Boxer and Death'' directed by Peter Solan. The majority of the film is set in the German POW camp at

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

during the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

and details how the Jewish Greek boxer Salamo Arouch was forced to fight other internees to the death for the SS guards' entertainment.

Plot

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Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

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, Salamo Arouch's passion is boxing. Captured along with his family and fiancée Allegra in 1943 and interned in Auschwitz, Arouch is used by his SS captors as entertainment, forced to box against fellow prisoners. He knows that if he refuses, his family will be punished; if he wins, he will be given extra rations which he can share with them; if he loses, he will be sent to the

gas chamber A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide. History Donatie ...

. As his family and friends die around him, he has only his love of Allegra and his grim determination to keep her alive. The film follows the early life story of Salamo Arouch, though it takes some artistic liberties including the early introduction of wife Allegra (a pseudonym for Marta Yechiel), whom Arouch did not actually meet until after the liberation of the camp.

Cast

as Salamo Arouch *

as Gypsy * Robert Loggia as Poppa Arouch * Wendy Gazelle as Allegra *Kelly Wolf as Elena * Costas Mandylor as Avram * Kario Salem as Jacko * Edward Zentara as Janush *

Hartmut Becker Hartmut Becker (6 May 1938 – 22 January 2022) was a German actor. He played Sgt. Gustav Wagner in ''Escape From Sobibor'' in 1987. He also starred in the 1970 film ''o.k. (film), o.k.'', which was also entered into the 20th Berlin Internation ...

as Maj. Rauscher

Production

Young was reluctant to make the film when he was first approached with the script, finding the topic too momentous to cover; he only agreed to direct when provided a script that focused only on one small element, "like a cork, bubbling on the surface of the sea." The film, which positions Arouch as a witness to the horrors of the Holocaust, was shot on a budget of US$12 million. Filming with permission at the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

, producers were able to utilize some existing structures but were also tasked with recreating a crematory given the condition of those that remain. The film also shot briefly in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Boxing trainer Teddy Atlas, who played the role of Klaus Silber, was boxing consultant.

Theme

The title of the film is suggestive of human triumph, a view to which star Dafoe subscribed, but others, including actor Olmos perceived its impact differently: " at does... he filmproject? The moral decay needed to survive in the camp." Lawrence Baron, the author of 2005's ''Projecting the Holocaust Into the Present'', agreed, stating that "the cumulative impression...undermines whatever uplifting impact its title and publicity imply.... A closer scrutiny of the movie reveals that it is not about the triumph of the spirit but rather about ' choiceless choices', to use Lawrence Langer's term for the dilemma faced by death camp inmates, who were never offered any moral alternatives to prolong their survival." Baron suggests that this message is crystallized in one scene where Arouch is set to fight his best friend Jacko, who has already been beaten by the guards, knowing that the loser will be consigned to the gas chamber; when he balks, his friend is executed on the spot.

Critical reception

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website

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, the film holds a 63% approval rating based on 8 reviews, with a rating average of 5.50/10. In its review, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' praised the performances of Dafoe ("harrowingly good") and Robert Loggia ("a memorably physical performance"), but complained that the film overall is "thoroughly mundane", obvious and sentimental, also singling out for criticism the "outstandingly intrusive score". Also taking note of the "intrusive score", ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' found all of the cast

melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...

tic with the exception of Dafoe's "disciplined performance" and dismissed the film as "earnest but woefully misguided". ''

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'' noted that the film "is too respectful of its subject to find more in it than noble cliches", highlighting Young's "bland direction" and concluding that " e film's only and considerable virtue lies in its documentation of the desperate strategies people devised to stay alive in the death camps."

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' felt that, by showcasing the fights and expecting viewers to root for Arouch, the filmmakers in effect force audiences to behave no differently from the Nazis in the story. The 2005 book ''Projecting the Holocaust Into the Present'', though acknowledging the generally negative critical reviews, opines that "Young's depiction of the ethical vacuum that the Nazis devised at Auschwitz makes the movie disturbing and effective."Baron, 92.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *

External links

* * * {{Robert M. Young 1989 films 1989 drama films 1980s biographical drama films 1980s English-language films 1980s sports drama films 1980s war drama films American films based on actual events American biographical drama films American boxing films American war drama films American World War II films Biographical films about sportspeople English-language biographical drama films Films directed by Robert M. Young Films produced by Arnold Kopelson Films scored by Cliff Eidelman Films set in 1943 Films set in Poland Films set in Thessaloniki Films shot in Israel Films shot in Poland Holocaust films Triumph Films films World War II films based on actual events 1980s American films English-language war drama films English-language sports drama films Sports drama films based on actual events