Playing for Time

Playing for Time is based on the autobiography of Fania Fénelon, whose portrayal by Vanessa Redgrave is nothing short of spectacular. The concept is simple: a group of women are held captive in Auschwitz, spared the gas chambers in exchange for their talents as musicians.

Much like my experience watching 2001’s James Dean, starring a young James Franco, I kept having to remind myself that Playing for Time was made for television. The caliber of Vanessa Redgrave’s performance is worthy of the big screen. She carries the film on her capable shoulders as the stoic celebrity-turned-prisoner, pianist, and singer of the Auschwitz orchestra.

Everything 1960’s Kapo aspired to accomplish as a female-driven perspective of life in the camps, Playing for Time achieves. Over its sometimes messy and unfocused two-and-a-half-hour runtime, the film examines the camaraderie within the orchestra, the inner politics between characters, and the power structures between the Nazi elite, mid-level officers, and the musicians themselves. It explores sexuality and the use of sexuality as a means of survival, the power of hope, and the universality of music.

Yes, I loved this film. That said, the structure of the narrative feels unfocused, and many of its themes and ideas remain underdeveloped. The ideas that do land are often tied up in moral judgments imposed by the filmmakers, which don’t always serve the story. There are some uncomfortable sexual judgments from the protagonist toward one of the younger captives—judgments that don’t stand the test of time.

No other film in the genre explores humanity in quite the same way. It uses the orchestra as a lens into the Holocaust, proving that through specificity, universality is achieved.

If there was ever a perspective on the Holocaust with the most relevance to a modern audience, this might be the one. It deserves to be remade, if only to be re-seen. This is a special story.