Varian's War

Ever since I read the biography of Varian Fry -- The Quiet American, I've been intrigued by this little known tale of espionage and refugee smuggling in Vichy France. The story was picked up by Showtime and turned into a two hour flick that aired on cable.

This is one of those inspiring tales that just happens to be true -- from 1940 to September of 1941, American journalist Varian Fry managed to smuggle and aid over two thousand jewish refugees out of Vichy France. The fact that most of his help went to intellectuals and artists is of little import -- among the people he managed to save are Heinrich Mann; the widow of Gustav Mahler and her husband Franz Werther; Marc and Bella Chagall, and Hannah Arendt along with other musicians, writers, scienctists and philosophers. Much of European art and culture would have been lost if these people had perished -- Alma Werther had the nerve to bring her collection of Gustav Mahler's drafts of music to the train station when she was fleeing.

The cast is pretty good -- William Hurt as Varian Fry, Julia Ormond as his fellow conspirator Miriam Davenport, with cameos by Alan Arkin as a forger and Lynn Redgrave as the oft-married Alma Werther. But the casting choices and some of the location shots are the only real benefits of this film. The costuming is correct, but everyone has the look of being poised and polished and you can see them thinking, 'oooh, look at how I'm holding this cigarette' or 'wearing this suit.'

What's really bad about this film -- despite the pretty location shots, and trying to tell a story of courage and humanitarianism -- is that it has that plastic feel of the 'movie of the week.' While it looks right, there's a chilling, sanitized aura around it that sucks the life right out of it. Another aspect is the coy hints of homosexuality that flirts around the edges of the film, and the fact that Fry shows his effeminate side a little too much, to the point that it becomes gratuitous.

If this story of an American Oskar Schindler interests you, I would suggest finding the book The Quiet American, or the story of the irrepressible Alma Mahler catches your fancy, try Bride of the Wind. During his lifetime, Varian Fry never recieved the recognition he so richly earned and died in obscurity and alone in 1967. Only in the 80's and 90's did his courageous work recieve any notice.

Sadly, the material of which this film is made up is poorly served by this adaptation. This one is just a so-so film and really needs a better treatment to tell an important story. Ok for the 13 years and older crowd, with no sex, little violence, and little more than a dressed up soap opera.