- Director : Vadim Perelman
- Actors : Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Lars Eidinger
- Studio : Cohen Media Group
- MPAA rating : NR (Not Rated)
- Country of Origin : Germany
- Number of discs : 1
- Media Format : Blu-ray
- Run time : 2 hours and 7 minutes
- Release date : July 18, 2023
I don’t envy
anyone attempting to make a movie about the Holocaust at this point, as these
narratives have become so common that the tragedy has turned into cinematic
tropes. Aside from the occasionally unexpected unique approach, like Life is
Beautiful or Jojo Rabbit, films about the Holocaust have a difficulty standing out.
Although Persian Lessons doesn’t attempt to completely reinvent the formula, it
does have an original premise, albeit one that requires a moderate ability to
suspend disbelief. What helps to sell the storyline is the subtly expressive
performance by Nahuel Pérez Biscayart.
Biscayart is a
Jewish man named Gilles who is arrested by SS soldiers in France during the
WWII occupation and sent to a camp in Germany. The only thing saving him from death
is a book traded for a sandwich, leading the soldiers to believe he is Persian.
The head of the camp is a German man named Klaus Koch (Lars Eidinger), who longs
to open a restaurant in Iran after the end of the war. Gilles survives with
preferential treatment in the camp by agreeing to teach Koch how to speak
Farsi, though he doesn’t actually know the language and is forced to fabricate
his own.
There isn’t much
depth to the story beyond this admittedly unique premise. As with most Holocaust
films, there is a great deal of suspense built into a scenario where the
promise of violence always looms over each encounter. Koch’s fragile ego and
wicked temper only increases the danger for Gilles, not to mention the other
Jewish prisoners in the camp. There are several of the tropes often found in
Holocaust narratives, though they are never heavy-handed. Director Vadim
Perelman (House of Sand and Fog) wisely keeps both the violence and
sentimentality from overtaking the narrative. This allows the focus to remain
on the characters, who feel real and fleshed out despite a slightly unbelievable
premise.
Beyond the subtlety
of Perelman’s direction, the highlight of Persian Lessons are the lead
performances by Biscayart and Eidinger. What is interesting is the difference
in approach each takes to their roles, with Eidinger allowed to chew the
scenery a bit more as a volatile Nazi. Biscayart arguably has the more
difficult job, often forced to draw in the audience with little more than his
eyes. The building tension of the scenario plays out in a way that feels
natural and never manipulative, even if those mechanics are built into the
storyline.
The Blu-ray
release for Persian Lessons doesn’t contain any extras, though it is a well
shot film that looks even better in high definition.
Entertainment Value: 7/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 7.5/10
Historical
Significance: 5/10
Special Features: 0/10
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