Verdict
Summary
A grueling holocaust film with an angle that spotlights a ring fighter, but never glorifies his skills or turns his story into a Rocky underdog story, Triumph of the Spirit is a harrowing, grim, and unpleasant picture, but it certainly has its winning elements, namely a very good score by Cliff Eidelman, solid performances, and unflinching direction by Robert M. Young.
Plot:
A champion Greek boxer is sent to Auschwitz during World War II.
Review:
In Greece, Salamo Arouch (Willem Dafoe) is a champion boxer with a great support system from his family. His father (Robert Loggia) loves him dearly, while his brother (Costas Mandylor) is always right there beside him, cheering him on while they have their loving wives and girlfriends to go home to. When the Nazis occupy Greece, they – and millions of others throughout Europe – are rounded up and sent to concentration and death camps, but Salamo and his entire family are sent to the worst one of all: Auschwitz, where the unthinkable very quickly occurs. Unimaginable horrors become a daily occurrence, but Salamo’s skill as a fighter is soon discovered by the officers, who throw him in the ring against other forced-to-fight prisoners, and before long he becomes a champion again, but not for glory or prestige … but simply for survival. Along with another “entertainer” (played by Edward James Olmos), Salamo survives and continues to survive, day after day, even while the rest of his family is eliminated. With the war eventually grinding to a halt, Salamo struggles to see any chance of hope, as his chances of managing to outlast the war and the Nazis’ cruel and senseless eradication of the Jews get slimmer by the day.
A grueling holocaust film with an angle that spotlights a ring fighter, but never glorifies his skills or turns his story into a Rocky underdog story, Triumph of the Spirit is a harrowing, grim, and unpleasant picture, but it certainly has its winning elements, namely a very good score by Cliff Eidelman, solid performances, and unflinching direction by Robert M. Young. Olmos’s character is underwritten and might’ve benefitted from more attention because I could never quite figure his character out, and both Loggia and Mandylor – though nicely played in the film – are also both underwritten and underdeveloped characters. They exist to provide more anguish for Dafoe’s protagonist character when they’re eliminated, but it would’ve been nice to “know” them more. An overall solid film, but still lacking in some crucial areas, this film deserves some well-deserved attention.
Kino Lorber’s new Blu-ray edition of Triumph of the Spirit comes in a solid high definition transfer, and also includes an audio commentary by a film historian, and the trailer. A slipcover is also included.
