Any remembrance of Holocaust victims is, of course, a worthy endeavor and a historical priority. Thus, "As Seen Through These Eyes," Hilary Helstein's brief documentary, serves as another critical reminder of one of the world's most horrific periods, even if, cinematically, it's an affecting collection of stories and images in search of an actual center.
Over the last decade, Helstein interviewed various Holocaust survivors (some of whom have since died) who recounted how they created art and music as a form of expression, control and diversion. The movie presents a vast array of sketches and paintings by the featured survivors that are remarkable not only because they're so adept and evocative but also because art supplies were so scarce in the camps. These works are often stirringly presented along with archival photos and footage of the real-life places and events they depict.
Interviewed artists include famed "Nazi hunter" Simon Wiesenthal; Ela Weissberger, who survived Terezin, the Nazis' deceptive "model ghetto," by performing in a children's opera; Dina Gottliebova-Babbitt, who, at Auschwitz, painted portraits of Gypsies for Dr. Josef Mengele; and Henry Rosmarin, whose harmonica playing for the SS kept him alive.
Maya Angelou's sporadic narration is a bit florid but otherwise consistent with this dignified project.
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Gary Goldstein --
"As Seen Through These Eyes." MPAA rating: Unrated. Running time: 1 hour, 10 minutes. At Laemmle's Music Hall, Beverly Hills; and Laemmle's Town Center 5, Encino.
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Roughing it in the Grand Canyon
If well-meaning people didn't make stupid choices -- and if cellphones worked everywhere -- way fewer vacation-from-hell thrillers would probably be made. That would include "The Canyon," a middling tale of survival about a honeymooning couple whose impulse to follow an eccentric guide into the Grand Canyon has dreadful consequences. And since, true to form, it's tough to get cell service in the depths of the gaping canyon, that's where the just-eloped Nick (Eion Bailey) and Lori (Yvonne Strahovski) end up stranded for days after guide Henry (Will Patton, reliable as always) succumbs to a deadly snake bite.
