The Island on Bird Street main backdrop
The Island on Bird Street main poster

The Island on Bird Street

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7.1/10 • 59

1997-04-111h 47m

DramaWar

Alex is an 11-year old boy who, during WWII, hides in the Jewish ghetto from Nazis after all his relatives have been sent to the concentration camp. The movie portrays the ghetto through his eyes.

Directors
Søren Kragh-Jacobsen
Writters
Tony Grisoni, John Goldsmith

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Patrick Bergin

    Patrick Bergin

    Stefan

  2. Jordan Kiziuk

    Jordan Kiziuk

    Alex

  3. Jack Warden

    Jack Warden

    Boruch

  4. James Bolam

    James Bolam

    Doctor Studjinsky

  5. Michael Byrne

    Michael Byrne

    Bolek

  6. Stefan Sauk

    Stefan Sauk

    Goehler

  7. Suzanna Hamilton

    Suzanna Hamilton

    Stasya's Mother

  8. Marek Grabowski

    Marek Grabowski

    Adam

  9. Marcin Herman

    Marcin Herman

    Joseph

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Mar 5, 2025

7/10

With the Nazis having reduced Warsaw to little more than rubble, the young “Alex” (Jordan Kiziuk) is separated from his family, who have been sent to a concentration camp, and is now forced to scavenge as best he can amongst the ruins. Fortunately, this is a resourceful young lad who quickly learns his way around the ghetto using the sewers and the attics to keep himself safe. That’s easier said than done as the water supply has been turned off and food is extremely scarce. There are still people in the city but with plenty prepared to turn him in for an apple or a loaf of bread, he has to be very wary of whom he can trust. His encounter with fellow refugees “Freddy” (Lee Ross) and “Henyrk” (Simon Gregor) alerts him to a way out of their squalid environment into safer parts but he still hopes for a reunion with his dad “Stefan” (Patrick Bergin) and for that to happen, however unlikely, he must risk remaining in a Jewish quarter that is being slowly demolished by the invaders. It’s a lot of responsibility for this young lad who really only has himself and his pet mouse “Snow” against perils around every corner, and Kiziuk holds that role together engagingly well. This film is also quite interesting in that it tells us the story from that child’s perspective which offers quite an affecting way to demonstrate both the brutishness of the soldiers and their indiscriminate thuggery as neither age nor sex made the slightest difference to the treatment they received. The production takes us deep into the infrastructure of “Ptasia Street” and into the psychology of both this boy and those he encounters as he must live his life by his guile and with some occasional goodwill, and though the brutality isn’t as graphic as in many similar stories, it is just as impactful. It’s quite compelling to watch and his choice of book - “Robinson Crusoe” rather sums the whole thing up.

Media

  • The Island on Bird Street poster
  • The Island on Bird Street poster
  • The Island on Bird Street poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
nazijewish ghettoworld war iiorphanstarvation1940skids on their ownchildren in wartime