Night Will Fall

Night Will Fall is a profoundly impactful documentary from 2014, narrated by Helena Bonham Carter, Jasper Britton, and featuring Leonard Berney. Directed by Andre Singer, the film offers an illuminating and deeply emotional plunge into the archives and memory of the Holocaust, through the lens of an original but-unfinished documentary shot by Allied military photographers at the tail end of World War II.

The primary narrative of Night Will Fall documents the uncompleted 1945 documentary titled "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey". At the close of World War II, the Allied forces, startled by the atrocious conditions they discovered in the recently liberated concentration camps, sought to create a record of the unimaginable horrors inflicted upon millions of innocents by the Nazi regime. They commissioned this film, shot by Allied military cameramen, intending to serve as undeniable evidence of Nazi atrocities, and to confront an unprepared world with the harrowing proof of the Holocaust.

Stitched carefully into this narrative is an intimate perspective from some of the original cameramen themselves, including Sgt. Leonard Berney, a liberation soldier interviewed for Night Will Fall. Their firsthand experiences provide personal dimensions to the historical footage, heightening the human impact emanating from the screen.

The film also includes footage narrated by Jasper Britton. The team employed a unique technique of narrating the original footage with a voiceover, making the stories more personal and empathetic to the audience. Helena Bonham Carter, most known for her roles in wide-ranging films from period dramas to fantasies, lends her distinctive voice to parts of the narration, adding the necessary gravitas and respect to the fiendish theme.

Night Will Fall is as much a tribute to the brave soldiers, survivors, and the original documentarians, as it is a chilling expose of mankind's capacity for cruelty. Director Andre Singer, known for his work in the documentary world, uses his storytelling finesse to bring forth this testament against forgetting. His direction interweaves the archival footage with modern interviews, constructing a narrative powerful enough to leave a permanent imprint on viewers' minds.

At its core, Night Will Fall is an inherently human and raw account of a cataclysmic event that continues to shape global consciousness. But the film doesn't stop at mere recounting. Through demonstrating the effort made to preserve the truth of the Holocaust in the unfinished 1945 film, Night Will Fall also examines the importance of bearing witness to and documenting history - how it is far more than an act of remembrance, but an active effort of resistance against denial and erasure.

The title 'Night Will Fall' comes from a chilling quote from the voiceover of the 1945 unfinished documentary, where it ominously warns, should such atrocities be overlooked or forgotten, “night will fall". It's this call for collective memory and the power of truth-telling that distinguishes this documentary.

The film is a clever amalgamation of past and present, serving as both a historical record and a testament to the potency of cinematic expression in preserving history. It incorporates restored footage, colored in parts, while Febreze Urruti’s musical score adds to the narrative's gravity.

In total, Night Will Fall is a poignant reminder of the Holocaust's shocking horrors—delivered through the lens of those who initially witnessed them and those who have dedicated themselves to ensuring these events are never forgotten. Despite its grim subject matter, the documentary also infuses a subtle sense of hope - that through remembering, acknowledging and speaking out, humanity has the power to resist the nightfall. It upholds the sentiment that preserving the past, no matter how difficult and emotional, is essential for the sake of humanity and its future.

This film is essential viewing both for its historical depth and for its compelling testament to the power of cinema as a tool for witness, documentation, and ultimately, justice.