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  June Zero
review by Bobby Blakey

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Some of the most powerful films are those dealing with real life events. There have been so many atrocities throughout history that should never be forgotten and when they find and interesting way to tell these stories it allows it to bring a different depth to the story. The latest is June Zero starring Noam Ovadia, Tzahi Grad, Yoav Levi, Tom Hagi, Joy Rieger, Koby Aderet, Adam Gabay, and Assi Itzhaki from director by Jake Paltrow. Could this story do justice to the legacy of the victims, or will it fail to make the news?
 

June Zero follows the infamous trial of Adolf Eichmann, the architect of the mass extermination of Jews during the Second World War. Depicting the events preceding Eichmann's execution, it approaches the important and much publicized Nazi criminal through the eyes of three participants in these events.
 

The film was completely shot on 16mm to give it a unique feel with each of the stories their own vision while still working together. The film is fragmented into three stories following a young boy and is his involvement of building the oven for execution, a prison guard whose focus is to not only do his job, but also hates the man and a holocaust survivor who is also a guard forced to watch him on death row. It weaves its way through these stories that eventually cross paths in a unique and powerful way.
 

 Each story has its own powerful message about the human spirit and what it must endure in these situations. There is a coming-of-age aspect to it for not just the young man in the initial story, but of the victims as they navigate how to move forward. They make the interesting decision to never show Adolf Eichmann’s face which is like they are purposefully not giving him a face or voice which is a powerful element all its own.

Some might think that the idea of not focusing on the trial or execution itself is 

or execution itself is the wrong direction, but for me seeing the everyday people and how it affected them was a more compelling story.

The performances were great and there are two specific monologues that I think spoke volumes to the entire theme and message this film is offering. I went into this film thinking it was going to be some sort of slow-paced convoluted drama that I was going to have to struggle to get through and left with it being something that I truly loved. It’s not the kind of story you might revisit more than once, but once is enough to get the message across.

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