1 Movie Directed by Lionel Chetwynd

Varian's War

Varian's War

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2001-04-22

Languages:

English, French, German, Italian

Countries:

UK, USA, Canada

Runtime:

121 min

IMDB Ratings:

6.4 (712 Reviews)

Director:

Lionel Chetwynd

Genres:

DramaWar

Fullplot:

After witnessing the treatment of Jews in Nazi territory made him physically sick, cultured American gentleman Varian Fry starts en emergency rescue commission to raise funds and lobby to help intellectuals and artists, especially Jews, escape from Vichy France -where the Pètain government avoid occupation only by utter collaboration- to the US, and for lack of a better volunteer personally sets out in search of them. First lady Eleanor Roosevelt personally overcomes the reticence of the State Department. In Marseille he finds the people he specifically looked for, such as Marc Chagall, already housed by Harry Bingham, a Jewish US consulate official so he starts screening less obvious candidates and examines with Miriam Davenport and a German social democrat they pass for US clergyman Beamish how some can be rescued legally, others via a clandestine route, while colonel Joubert's State Police is at their trace...

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