Watch Run Boy Run For Free

A different way of telling a story

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

I came across this movie by pure chance. Browsing through DVDs in the supermarket I bought it on a whim. Boy, am I glad I did. Given the subject matter it is grim in places (and if you don't shed a tear at times you have no heart!) but please do not let this put you off viewing what is in the end a truly inspiring tale of courage and fortitude overcoming the horrors of The Holocaust. I viewed it under the title 'Escape From Warsaw' and struggled to find it under this name on IMDb. And when I did find it, I was amazed to find it only had a rating of 7/10. Not bad of course, but this movie for me deserves a 10. The little boy who plays the lead is totally convincing and acts way beyond his years. The rest of the cast is also excellent and the Polish countryside and forests are seen in all their glory throughout. I cannot recommend this movie highly enough.

This film is available on Netflix, it does have subtitles, but that makes this story that much better. The young actors who play Srulik/Jurek did an absolutely amazing job and perfectly captured the raw emotion, pain and suffering that Yoram Friedman must have felt during the 3 years spent fleeing Germans in the Polish countryside. If not mentioned above, this film is based on a true story and is said to be 90% accurate, the end of the film features a clip from Yoram himself. I highly recommend this film as it portrays war and the suffering of Jews during WWII from a child's perspective. I was left in tears and just wanting to hug Srulik at the end, this film will definitely stay with me for a very long time.

I starting watching this film on Netflix and was about to turn it off when I saw the sub-titles. I really don't like to have to read them. I prefer movies I watch to be in English but I just couldn't turn it off. I was immediately drawn in and didn't mind the sub-titles at all. There wasn't not a lot of dialog anyway. This film is so beautifully done, the story, the music and the time period in history. It is a heartbreaking series of events. The young boy's acting is superb and you feel as if you are right there with him as he struggles to survive in the cruel world of the Holocaust. It is far from happy but definitely worth watching. I recommend this movie. It will stay with me for a long time.

Half a year after the movie premiered in Cottbus, it got a wide release all throughout Germany. The director is Pepe Danquart, who won an Academy Short Film Award over 20 years ago. And even now, it has been almost 10 years between "Lauf Junge lauf" and his last non-documentary movie. I would not say that this movie had any moments of true greatness, but it was 2 entertaining hours at the theater. This is quite an achievement as there have been so many films taking place during the Nazi years or World War II and it is always nice to see one that comes up with a story that does not feel repetitive.The little boy who played the main character did not have to act that much. the script was really written intelligently in a way, in which being there was enough in most situations to see him disappear in his role. Still he wasn't bad at all. Basically, all the supporting characters make this movie so interesting: the Nazi officers, those who help the boy (especially the woman who lives alone in the house), the doctors etc. Of course the kid being a Jew gives the film great significance, but it never felt like this was the key point here. The scenes, in which the boy interacts with different character rarely put any emphasis on that, and that made them so interesting.the chase scenes worked well and I also liked the camera shots and cinematography (which got nominated at the German Film Awards). And rightfully so. It is very much responsible for all the scenes that have you on the edge of your seat. Let me emphasize though that this is no film for children, despite a child playing the main character. Here and there you find children's films that take place during World War II, but this is not one of them. There is one scene with a severed arm which is particularly brutal.All in all, I'd recommend this movie. It features some of Poland most notable actors right now and maybe it can be a platform for one or two of them to have a bigger career in European movies outside their country. We'll see. Despite the dark times and heavy topic, the film occasionally manages to put a smile on your lips, which is always good as you don't want to be too depressed when the ending credits roll in. I always like when they manage to put in some comic relief, not too much though as otherwise it becomes a bit ridiculous, and they managed the right amount here.