Chris CooperPrimo Levi's Journey

I was disappointed in that this was a retrospective that didn't quite capture the feeling of experience as in the John Turturro movie on Primo Levi. However, it did give information about Levi's return route which was had to follow and lacked any entertainment value.

The film offered a very interesting look at Levi's journey home from his time in Auschwitz. Told using his book, The Truce and visits to significant places on his homeward journey being visited many years after the original event. Levi is more than a master story teller and this film brings his deep insight of the Holocaust and his empathic connection to those who shared his life experiences as well as all the rest of us. I highly recommend this movie to everyone especially those who want to gain a greater understanding of the suffering of the victims and survivors of the worst crime in history.I also recommend the writings of Primo Levi to all.

Focuses more on modern culture than the actual journey of Primo Levi, mentioning him more as an off-fact only a few times throughout the movie. If you are doing a research project on his life then consider a different source.

"Primo Levi, born in Turin, Italy, in 1919, and trained as a chemist, was arrested during the Second World War as a member of the anti-Fascist resistance and deported to Auschwitz in 1944. His experience in the death camp and his subsequent travels through Eastern Europe were the subject of powerful memoirs, fiction and poetry. Levi died in Turin in April 1987." From:[...]I decided to start with this basic information because the documentary assumes the viewer already knows about Levi. I'd recommend watching "Interviews" first. You can find it on the menu. This gives background on the Italian documentary filmmakers and why they decided to trace Levi's journey. It seems that Levi's works are very commonly assigned in high school in Italy, but then people usually forget about them. The filmmakers wanted to make his journey come alive.The documentary retraces Levi's journey after being freed from Auschwitz. He falls in with a Soviet convoy and ends up going deep into the USSR before finally going back west and returning to Italy. What the filmmakers did is go to the places Levi went and see what was there.While the documentary begins by being very artsy, it gathers power over the course of it and ends by being a powerful statement about the continuing relevance of Levi's work and life. The film shot in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, etc, is often really beautiful. I've been to Russia, and this documentary really captures the feel of the place.This is not really a straightforward documentary about Primo Levi but a more personal response to his work and journey. One of the points is that this is Europe. Both east and west are one Europe. I found the section on Germany to be especially thought-provoking and there's an implied contrast with the slower-paced life in the the east that's very interesting. The section on Chernobyl is also moving.Not a perfect work, but one worth seeing.

Very strange hodgepodge of thoughts and images.

We were disappointed. This is not a movie based on Primo Levi's book. It's a collection of interviews. Not interesting.

I thought this was going to be about Primo Levi's Journey. It is not. That was my own fault for not reading the description.I decided to give it a chance and see what it was about. Retracing Primo Levi's Journey. It is a big mess of information and thoughts and I could not figure out why any one part was included. Here's some footage I have of a train station. And here is an interview with someone, who I won't explain why they are being interviewed or what they are talking about. And here is some other random stuff.If you got something out of it, I'm happy for you. I gave up after a point and watched something else. Here's a photo of a shoe. Primo wore shoes.