m-torres-61-319635 This is not a drama but a documentary slice of life from the latter years of ordinary people who are celebrating together their survival of one the worst tragedies in history.What kind of photography did you expect - avant-garde, intended for the Cannes Film Festival? Gimme a break!The testimonials are incidental to the intent of the film. They are part of it but not the main reason for it.What kind of scholarly thought are you referring to? This shows a total lack of understanding of the movie. It was NOT made as a contribution to the already sizable archive of survivors' testimonials. It wanted to present a an event in the lives of these people that had been re-enacted for a few decades. Why does a documentary filmmaker choose any individual or group of people? Because he/she believes they will make for an interesting story that hasn't been told before or wants to make it in his/her own way. Who should he have chosen in your view? There are hardly any survivors left.The movie wasn't intended to be a revelation of any kind. Everything you said is mean-spirited and makes one wonder whether you had ulterior motives in panning it.No, this documentary is not a tour de force work of art, but it is not anything that you're claiming it is either. Seems to me you're a frustrated amateur film critic that doesn't even have a good command of English. I truly doubt that you have any Holocaust survivor relatives.

Roland E. Zwick Every summer for the past few decades, a group of Jewish Holocaust survivors has met at the Four Seasons Lodge in the Catskill Mountains, drawn together by their unwitting participation in the single greatest crime-against-humanity of the modern era.Though these individuals spend some of their time on camera detailing their harrowing experiences in the death camps, much of the documentary "Four Seasons Lodge," directed by Andrew Jacobs, a writer for "The New York Times," actually focuses on the here and now, on their lives and relationships with one another in the present day.In fact, in many ways, the movie is less about being a concentration camp survivor than it is about the tragedy and trauma of growing old, of having to say goodbye - to each other, to life, and to the lodge itself, whose fate lies in the hands of this ever-diminishing group of people who are now seriously contemplating selling off their shares in it.Perhaps the most poignant moment in the movie is the one in which we see, in grainy home movie footage from several decades back, the much younger versions of these same people, all hearty and hale and in the prime of their lives, dancing up a storm and enjoying to the full their time together. It's a stunning contrast to their condition today.And, yet, through it all, these brave and spirited survivors - who have experienced and endured far more in their lives than the rest of us could possibly even imagine - have somehow managed to persevere and to make something of their lives."Four Seasons Lodge" is no great shakes as a piece of filmmaking. It doesn't tug at the heartstrings or provide grand moments of dramatic revelation as one might expect given the emotional intensity of the subject matter. In fact, the tone of the film is almost defiantly prosaic - a means, perhaps, of showing us just how successfully these people have managed to move on with their lives despite the horrors of the past. Whatever the goal, the movie provides a time capsule for future generations to study over and ponder. And to see history written in these lined, wizened faces.

druid333-2 With the countless number of quality documentaries dealing with survivors of the Holocaust,there's always room for another. In this case,it's Andrew Jacob's ever so fine meditation on old age,'Four Seasons Lodge'. The setting is a colony of bungalow's in the Catskill's that has seen better days (the grounds,as well as the bungalows show signs that much repairs are needed,overseen by the grounds keeper,himself in his 80's). The residents of the colony are all survivors of the Nazi occupation of Poland (with one exception,a woman,from Austria). The manager of the community,a survivor who claims he was experimented on by Dr.Josef Mengele,always seems to have his hands full with one thing or another,is worried that the colony is to be sold to the state of New York,for potential re-development. We get to see the daily going's on of the community,hear their stories of survival,and just live for each day in general. First time director Andrew Jacobs,directs from a scenario written in collaboration with Kim Connell. Veteran cinematographer,Albert Mayles ('Grey Gardens','Gimmie Shelter',and far too many other films to mention here)photographs with a flair for the great out of doors (we get to see the seasons via it's various weather changes,from snowy Winter,to pastoral Spring & idyllic Summer & Fall). The film,although sad at times,also is infused with life,from the perspective of those who have seen far too much death in their own lives for their own good. Spoken in heavily accented English,and Polish & Yiddish with English subtitles. Not rated by the MPAA,this film has occasional outbursts of rude language,some mild adult content (mostly in the way of a nightclub comic,mouthing some fairly racy material),and some harrowing testimonies of the ill treatment of Jews during the Holocaust

scottdav60 Unfortunately a promising topic was turned into a sentimental and overwrought drama. Mundane and predictable photography. There is little originality in this documentary as anyone familiar with Holocaust testimonies, and of course the people, has heard these stories with more insight. A superficial and kitschy film which does not add to scholarly thought. One also wonders why the crew chose this particular group; it's never made clear. It looks as if the people have been arranged for shots; definitely a high-budget production with aerials. Doesn't seem to suit the setting. The camera seems obvious, intruding into the lives of these people. Of course this would be unavoidable with a large crew. One wonders how the survivors felt, and that's another problem with the movie. The characters have little depth; they seem to spout expected lines and the whole effect is of a scripted film in which the director has just discovered the Holocaust and thinks he's the first. I watched this with some survivor relatives and they could not relate at all. They knew the clichés and shook their heads hearing them once again, this time portrayed as revelation.