Buried Prayers
In Steven Meyer's overfamiliar and underwhelming docu "Buried Prayers," a group of concentration-camp survivors return to the site of their traumatic memories, the Maidanek death camp in German-occupied Poland.
In Steven Meyer’s overfamiliar and underwhelming docu “Buried Prayers,” a group of concentration-camp survivors return to the site of their traumatic memories, the Maidanek death camp in German-occupied Poland. They’re accompanied by an international team of archeologists and investigators to dig in fields where Jews hid their valuables en route to the crematorium, yet the hurried search plays less poignantly than intended. Docu’s insistent inflation of buried gold jewelry and watches into symbols of heroic defiance and transcendental tragedy rings hollow in the wake of weightier Holocaust testimonials. Opening Nov. 18 at Gotham’s Quad Cinema, “Prayers” reps a minor historical footnote.
Helmer Meyer never fully brings together his docu’s disparate elements. The past-haunted visit by distraught survivors, as well as the intonation of Kaddish at the site of death, have been more movingly portrayed elsewhere. Little evocative use is made of the strikingly oppressive appearance of Maidanek itself, which stands, virtually intact, as a memorial to atrocity. And the constant hard sell of the importance of the dig makes one suspect that, far from being along for the ride, the documentary crew constitutes the driving force behind the whole enterprise.
Read More About:
Jump to CommentsBuried Prayers
U.S.-Poland
More from Variety
Korea Box Office: ‘Executioner’ Reigns as ‘Transformers One’ Makes Second Place Debut
Does Streaming Hurt Theaters? This Survey Says It Helps
Korea Box Office: ‘I, the Executioner’ Achieves $50 Million Total as ‘Joker: Folie a Deux’ Makes Second Place Debut
Korea Box Office: ‘I, The Executioner’ Reaches $40 Million After Second Weekend, as ‘Begin Again’ Enjoys Return
Despite ‘Joker’ Folly and ‘The Penguin’ Success, DC Studios Still Untested
Neom and KOFIC to Launch Training Initiative as Korea, Saudi Arabia Look to Strengthen Ties – Busan ACFM
Most Popular
Inside the 'Joker: Folie à Deux' Debacle: Todd Phillips ‘Wanted Nothing to Do’ With DC on the $200 Million Misfire
‘Menendez Brothers’ Netflix Doc Reveals Erik’s Drawings of His Abuse and Lyle Saying ‘I Would Much Rather Lose the Murder Trial Than Talk About Our…
‘Joker 2’ Axed Scene of Lady Gaga’s Lee Kissing a Woman at the Courthouse Because ‘It Had Dialogue in It’ and ‘Got in the Way’ of a Music…
Kamala Harris Cracks Open a Miller High Life With Stephen Colbert on ‘The Late Show’
‘Kaos’ Canceled After One Season at Netflix
Saoirse Ronan Says Losing Luna Lovegood Role in ‘Harry Potter’ Has ‘Stayed With Me Over the Years’: ‘I Was Too Young’ and ‘Knew I Wasn't Going to Get…
Kathy Bates Won an Oscar and Her Mom Told Her: ‘You Didn't Discover the Cure for Cancer,’ So ‘I Don't Know What All the Excitement Is About…
Disney World, Universal Orlando Theme Park to Close as Florida Braces for Hurricane Milton
Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried to Star in ‘The Housemaid’ Adaptation From Director Paul Feig, Lionsgate
‘Joker 2’ Director Says Arthur Fleck Was Never Joker: ‘He's an Unwitting Icon’ and Joker Is ‘This Idea That Gotham People Put on Him…
Must Read
- Film
COVER | Sebastian Stan Tells All: Becoming Donald Trump and Starring in 2024’s Most Controversial Movie
By Andrew Wallenstein 3 weeks
- TV
Menendez Family Slams Netflix’s ‘Monsters’ as ‘Grotesque’ and ‘Riddled With Mistruths’: ‘The Character Assassination of Erik and Lyke Is Repulsive…
- TV
‘Yellowstone’ Season 5 Part 2 to Air on CBS After Paramount Network Debut
- TV
50 Cent Sets Diddy Abuse Allegations Docuseries at Netflix: ‘It’s a Complex Narrative Spanning Decades’ (EXCLUSIVE)
- Shopping
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Sets Digital and Blu-ray/DVD Release Dates
Sign Up for Variety Newsletters
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Variety Confidential
ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9nfXJ9jp%2BgpaVfp7K3tcSwqmiapae2prCMqamasZWnwG59kGpucmxma31zew%3D%3D