Nicky's Family (2011) User Reviews (13)

Untold story of the humble man who saved a generation

[larry-411 · 9/10 · 9 January 2016]

There are essentially two kinds of documentaries. The first turns you on to a story you knew nothing about. The second documents an incident you've heard of -- maybe even have read about or studied -- but uncovers facts that are not only new to you but also put a completely different perspective on what you thought really happened. Call it a revelatory experience. This film from Slovak co-writer/director/producer Matej Minac and co-writer/producer/editor Patrik Pass is a triumphant example of the latter.

Nicky's Family tells the dramatic story of the Kindertransport, a mission to save children from Central and Eastern Europe as Hitler rose to power in the late 1930s by secreting them onto trains to the United Kingdom. The film focuses on one man, Nicholas Winton ("Nicky"), who singlehandedly rescued 669 primarily Jewish children from Czechoslovakia in just a few short months. Winton, a wealthy but unassuming British entrepreneur without many political concerns, was off on a ski trip to Switzerland in 1938 when he changed plans to meet up with his friend Martin Blake in Prague, who saw the swastikas on the horizon and was helping Jewish refugees out of the country. The Nazi campaign was beginning to exert its influence on the local population, turning neighbor against neighbor as Hitler's disciples marginalized those who didn't fit his Master Plan -- not just Jews, but also Czechs and Slavs, Gypsies, and homosexuals.

As homes and businesses were destroyed or commandeered by the Nazis, and as unwitting, otherwise law-abiding citizens began to be crammed into ghettos and shipped off to transit camps on the way to more horrific locations as yet unknown, families were often broken up to fulfill the needs of the regime. It quickly became apparent to the 29-year-old Winton that there was a narrow window of opportunity in this pre-war period during which he could use his connections, communication skills, and business acumen to help shepherd the doomed children out of the country before the fate of these innocents was sealed.

Nicky's Family reveals not only the tenacity with which Winton pursued this seemingly impossible task but also the tremendous luck involved in such a massive undertaking. It achieves this through a cleverly constructed three-layered approach: narrative recreations mixed with poignant archival footage and present-day interviews with the survivors. Minac and Pass have crafted a literate script that captures every nuance, each dramatic twist and turn along the way towards freedom for these children, without sacrificing historical accuracy. There's a wealth of information packed into this movie but it never overwhelms the viewer or feels rushed.

Slovak cinematographer Dodo Simoncic has shot 40 theatrical and television motion pictures, and his experience shows in the almost-palpable sensitivity which leaps off the screen in the telling of Nicky's achievement. The recreated historical scenes look breathtakingly authentic, unlike similarly structured documentaries which often resemble amateur home videos more than serious, professional films. Shooting locations for this sprawling epic, filmed over the course of almost six years, include the Czech Republic, France, Great Britain, Slovakia, Israel, the USA, Canada, Hungary, Cambodia, and Denmark. The original score by composer Janusz Stoklosa is magnificently haunting and perfectly matches each time and place as the story unfolds. This was clearly a labor of love for the production team. The reenactment cast is outstanding, led by Michal Slaný's heartwarming performance as Nicky -- Britain's "Oskar Schindler." Actual survivors, witnesses, family, and friends brought in for interviews were not shy at all in relating their experiences (except the ever humble Sir Nicholas himself).

The details of how Winton was able to save so many, and have such an impact on the world today, were lost to history for a half century. But how we have come to know "Nicky's" story, as well as what it took to save the 669, is best discovered in the viewing of the film -- the awe-inspiring undertaking, filled with happy accidents as well as cunning craftsmanship, needs to be seen to be believed. It's all in Nicky's Family, and viewers will be moved to tears by what one man was able to accomplish, and what those he saved -- and their children, and children's children -- have done to repay his generosity and kindness.

At age 102, reluctantly, even now, he finds himself surrounded by extended families who, quite literally, would not exist today if not for a simple idea. "If something isn't blatantly impossible there must be a way of doing it," Winton believed. One man's determination to make a difference grew into an odyssey that has left a legacy of generations performing acts of kindness, saving exponentially more human beings than Winton ever imagined when those first trains left Prague.

========= UPDATE: Sir Nicholas Winton passed away on July 1. 2015 at the age of 106. May his kind soul rest in peace.

Amazing story--and it's true!

[Red-125 · 8/10 · 5 January 2019]

Nicky's Family (2011) is a Slovak/Czech documentary. It was co-written and directed by Matej Minac.

The film describes the incredible feats of Sir Nicholas George Winston, dubbed "The English Schindler." Sir Nicholas quietly--and effectively--was able to bring 669 children out of Czechoslovakia and into England after the Germans had occupied their country.

That's a remarkable story, well presented with some simulated scenes, some photos, and interviews with some of the people who were rescued.

The other remarkable part of the story is that no one knew what Sir Nicholas had accomplished until 1988--almost 50 years after the event took place. People only found out about his heroic work when his wife happened upon a scrapbook he had kept.

It's fascinating that, once war started and no children could be rescued, Sir Nicholas put the whole enterprise behind him. He didn't identify himself to the children he had saved. He didn't even tell his wife. This may not be totally accurate. He had mentioned what he had done when he ran for local office. (From Wikipedia.) However, the scrapbook and the BBC are what gave him international recognition.

Director Minac made a decision about the last part of the film with which I don't completely agree. He shows us that many people have been inspired to do charity work because of Winston's example. My thought is that this feel-good part of the documentary doesn't answer the questions I have about the man himself. Why didn't he follow up his work and stay connected with the children he had saved? What happened in his life between the end of the rescue operation and public fame in 1988? And, most importantly, why did he do what he did in 1938-39? Sir Winston died in 2015. We almost certainly will never know the answer to the last question.

We saw this film on the small screen, where it worked very well. It's a fascinating story, and the movie is definitely worth seeking out and watching.

A British equivalent of Schinder's List

[jjturley · 10/10 · 2 April 2014]

This was a truly wonderful documentary.

It is related in a narrative style, where we go back and forth between modern times and 1939 to tell the amazing story of what one man did to save a large group of children from the Nazis.

That man is Nicholas George Winton. During the 1930's, he was a successful stockbroker living in London. He certainly looked like one, all dressed up and wearing his big glasses! In the winter of 1938, he was planning a skiing trip in Switzerland. His plans were changed by a last-minute phone call from a friend in Prague, Czechoslovakia. There was a serious problem there, since Nazi Germany had recently annexed part of the country (Sudetenland), and it looked like they were going after more.

Nicholas met with terrified and hungry refugees that had been displaced by the Nazis. They were desperate to leave. As we all know from the tragic history, no nations were willing to take them in. Even the United States kept its doors firmly shut.

What could anyone do to help these refugees? Nicholas found a way to save at least some of the children, by getting them adopted. This took an enormous amount of effort filling out lengthy paperwork, and of course money - 50 pounds per child. He founded an organization that placed these Czech children into British homes. It was heart-breaking for the Czech families to say goodbye to their children at the train station, but as the political situation steadily got worse, they knew it was the right thing.

In 1939, over 660 children were officially adopted into new homes. The flow of children stopped abruptly on September 1st, 1939, which is when the war officially started.

During the war, Nicholas enlisted in the Royal Air Force and flew missions into Europe. Afterwards, he returned to his business, got married, and started a family.

It was nearly 50 years later that his wife discovered a dusty suitcase in the attic of their house, showing all the documents and photos of the children. Nicholas, as humble as anyone could be, had never mentioned it to her. His wife thought it would be great to reach out and see how the children (now well into middle age) had fared, and she reached out to them.

We learn that many of them grew up to become successful citizens. Some remained in Britain, and others emigrated. They had never known who had been responsible for getting them out of Czechoslovakia, and were quite eager to meet and thank Nicholas Winton for his great deed.

In one excerpt from a live television show, we see people introduce themselves to Nicholas, now well into his 80's. He is moved to tears, and humble as always, says very little to them.

Not surprisingly, we learn the fate of the Czech parents who had to give their children away: they were sent to the death camps. The children that Nicholas was unable to save also perished there.

All of this shows what one man was able to do. People were so inspired by him that some organizations are now trying to do the same. As Nicholas Winton celebrated his 100th birthday, he then met with some different organizations that want to help people all over the world.

Love and action conquers hatred

[dbrayshaw · 10/10 · 22 June 2014]

I didn't know what to expect from this movie. After viewing so many Holocaust related films over the years, the themes seem to melt into one another. In my searches, I've learned about the name and location of the camps, the names of the most terrible people, and the sociology of a nation that surprisingly contracted, almost overnight, a deep mental illness that it did not wish to free itself from. That illness was hate.

This movie, however, after the first half of it, kept me in tears. I am a man who finds it extremely difficult to cry, except on occasions when I watch a touching movie or read a heartfelt book. Without those avenues, I am unable to shed a tear. But this film was so completely able to bring out of me tears by witnessing the impact the good deeds of one man can cause through a kind of domino effect.

Nicholas Winton, still alive today at 105, is a man worthy of all the honors bestowed on him. He is a hero of the highest caliber due to his unflinching commitment to save the lives of 700 Czech children during the advance of the Third Reich into Czechoslovakia in 1938.

What he did was provide for these children English families to adopt them. Tirelessly he worked to sometimes forge papers in order to save children he barely knew, all out of an altruistic character not often seen in stock brokers, which he was prior to making a visit with a friend to inspect for himself what Hitler was causing within Czechoslovakia. That visit changed his life forever, for the good of hundreds of Czech children.

Nicky wrote hundreds of letters seeking aid from all countries, and fashioned pictorial listings of all the kids for selection by their future parents, but only one country was willing to open their hearts to these desperate children, England.

Because of his work, Nicky now has a "family" of some 5800 offspring from the grown children he arranged to secure passage to a new life in England. The kindness of the English people shown to these children makes me extremely proud of British countrymen and women. It was stated on the film, that the poorest of English people were the most compassionate and loving.

Watch the documentary, but be sure to have Kleenex sitting by you as you will, without a doubt, be very moved.

The British Schindler

[kao123 · 10/10 · 28 April 2014]

Nicky Winton now 104 years old is shown to be a key figure in the Kindertransport. This was an active program to move at risk children in the Czech republic, who are sure to be harmed by Hitler's regime changes.

He is able to save 669 children before the invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. A lot of these children lost their parents in the concentration camps. Not surprisingly, most of the kids who were not able to get to England also perished in these camps.

There are interviews with the children he brought over and we see them with their families. Due to Sir Winton's actions, his family has grown to over 5,700 persons (survivor, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren).

What struck me is how humble Sir Nicky Winton about all that he did during this operation. For a long time, these children did not know who was responsible for saving their lives, because of his humility.

There is a book being released about Sir Winton in May 2014, I hope the book is as good as this movie.

Have some Kleenex handy as you watch this moving film.

[planktonrules · 10/10 · 30 August 2014]

While the story of Nicholas Winton is relatively well known in the UK today, many people outside the country still have no idea who he is and why he's recently become famous. This story is about how this man's actions just before World War Two have made a huge impact on the world today.

Back in very late 1938, Winton was traveling across Europe. He happened to go to Czechoslovakia instead of his original choice, Switzerland. When he arrived in Prague, he was amazed at the virulence of the new Nazi regime against the Jews and he was one of the few outsiders who recognized this for what it was. Most at the time thought the anti- Semitism would just blow over--Winton recognized that it could mean death to all these people. Some of the Jews in Czechoslovakia also thought that the Nazis intended to kill them and soon Winton organized a scheme to get as many Jewish children out of Nazi-controlled Czechoslovakia as they could. All in all, he was responsible for organizing an effort which saved almost 700 children--sending them off to live in the UK for the duration of the war. For this, some folks have referred to him as 'Britain's Schindler'.

Oddly, Winton's efforts went mostly unnoticed after the war and Winton himself didn't talk about it. In fact, he didn't even tell his wife until they were very, very elderly. She was amazed and decided to do something about it--and she went to the BBC and other agencies to talk about her husband's pre-war activities. The story resonated with the TV service and soon they began contacting as many of the surviving refugees that Winton's efforts saved in order to honor the man. Then, in his upper 90s, Winton was finally publicly recognized for his actions on television.

However, the film is NOT just about Winton. While he is very important to the beginning and ending of the film, so much fills in the middle portion of the documentary. Had it been just about Winton, it would have been an exceptional picture. Instead, it also focuses on the children--their experiences at the time and their lives after the war. Additionally, like the analogy they give of a stone being tossed into the water, the 'ripples' created by these lives is what makes the film so incredibly special. There is also a lot of focus is on children today throughout the world who are now celebrating Winton's legacy by giving back to others--and in effect, these are all members of 'Nicky's family'. The many volunteer activities kids do today as well as a huge celebration of Winton and the Czech refugees make the film magical to watch--and will definitely bring a few tears to your eyes. So, while the story is incredibly sad since the parents of these refugee children died horribly, this isn't the end of the story--there is hope and goodness.

So who is the audience for this film? I'd say just about anyone. Because the film is careful to thoroughly explain Nazi anti-Semitism, the climate of the late 1930s as well as the Holocaust, it's excellent for kids who don't yet know about WWII and the massacres. And, it's also appropriate because although it talks about these horrors, it lacks the extremely gory images you might find in many documentaries about the Holocaust. Now I am not being critical of films which do--but because this one doesn't, parents can rest assured that the kids will learn about these events without worrying about there being age inappropriate content. As for adults, they, too, will enjoy the film and draw great inspiration from the folks in the Nicky's Family. All in all, it's one of the most inspiring and heart-felt films I have seen in a long, long time. Be sure to watch it with a box of Kleenex handy.

The most compelling, the most touching and beautiful

[devansh-bavishi · 10/10 · 21 April 2014]

This was the most touching, the most compelling and the most beautiful documentary I have ever seen. It touched my heart so deeply. If you have come upon this page then I would advise you to put anything and everything what you are doing aside and watch this documentary first. A story told by the people who lived it, survived the holocaust to tell it to you and pass it onto the next generation. Direction is at the best and it is very smooth time travel. They haven't included any of the World War II violence. It is impossible to see the fruits of the tree you planted but in this documentary they have shown a person who planted his trees and lived to eat and enjoy it's fruits during his life time and spread his generosity for upcoming generations. Simple loved it.

Extremely Touching & Powerful Docudrama

[larrys3 · 10/10 · 19 August 2014]

This is an extremely touching, powerful, and well presented docudrama focusing on the heroic efforts of Sir Nicholas Winton, a British stockbroker, who helped rescue 669 children, mostly Jewish, from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, in the late 1930's. These children would have faced near certain death in the Nazi extermination camps if they hadn't been brought out of the country.

Using enormous determination Winton, when seeing the desperate need, first-hand, of the families there, finally found one country to let the refugee children in, and that was his own Great Britain. Opening, a small office Winton cut any corners he could to expedite and coordinate this vast undertaking. He had to find British families to match up and take the Czechoslovakian children into their homes, as the "iron fist" of the Nazis got tighter and tighter and World War 2 was about to begin.

In this remarkable film, director Matej Minac deftly interposes some dramatization of the actual events, with striking real footage of the era. There are a number of interviews of the rescued children, today of course they're senior citizens, who recount their dramatic and traumatic memories of their experiences. There is also lots of footage of them telling their stories today to young persons at schools, and it's heart-warming to see the real interest of the young in their tales.

What's amazing is that none of this story may have come to light if Winton's wife Grete hadn't found a scrapbook of all the children and the events that occurred. Winton had not revealed to her or anyone else what he had done.

Eventually, in 1988, the story reached a BBC program "That's Life" where Winton, who was invited under false pretenses to the show, is thoroughly shocked to be sitting next to some of the people whose lives he had helped save. In fact, the audience is all made up of these rescued children. This was a terribly moving scene in the movie and extremely heart-felt as Winton, who is now 105-years-young, gets to meet some of the people he saved for the first time.

As mentioned this was one of the most moving films I've seen in a long time, and well deserving of the highest rating.

Rating: A+

An Inspiring Documentary

[dahlswede · 3 April 2014]

The documentary entitled "Nicky's Family" (2011) describes how one British businessman organized a valiant effort to rescue over six hundred children in Czechoslovakia from the Nazis during the tense months immediately preceding the outbreak of World War II. At the time, Adolf Hitler's military forces had invaded parts of Czechoslovakia and begun terrorizing the Jewish community. Many parents realized that their children's' best hope for survival would involve becoming temporary refugees abroad.

The film contains a few historical dramatic depictions, but most of the coverage involves interviews with key participants. It is very fortunate that so many people were able to share their memories of the events. The documentary production also makes excellent use of film footage dating from the prewar and wartime era.

"Nicky's Family" contains a bittersweet quality. While everyone can rejoice that just a few dedicated volunteers rescued so many children from peril, some accounts describe intensely painful events.

Viewers can empathize with the separation of families at the train station in Czechoslovakia, the terror of Jewish children undertaking a long and confusing journey through Nazi Germany on their way to their host families in the British Isle, and the sadness many rescued children experienced when they learned what happened to so many of their relatives and loved ones who remaining behind. The fact that many families in Czechoslovakia tried to send their children abroad to safety but could not do so also provides a sad undercurrent to the events in the film.

This is a beautiful, inspiring and informative documentary which deserves attention. It is also a kind tribute to the brave Englishman who organized the relief efforts, and to the host families who agreed to shelter the refugees.

Nicky's family

[blythe-83572 · 10/10 · 31 October 2018]

I think I cried through most of the movie. Extremely touching story. A must see.

Brilliant!

[lolipop_big · 10/10 · 25 April 2019]

One of the best documentaries I've ever seen. Well made.Everyone needs to watch it. It has the life lessons...

A quiet hero

[jowl-38766 · 10/10 · 22 January 2018]

Non fiction. A story well told.

Plot spoilers: Nicholas Winton (later knighted) during WW2 , found himself involved in trying to save children (the majority of them Jewish) in Czechoslovakia. His efforts lead to him saving 669 of them from what would have been death in concentration camps. For years afterwards this story was untold as he put it aside to get on with life, Later his actions were discovered by his wife as she was going through some items in the attic. His heroism was given the recognition he richly deserved and by his actions, inspired those who were saved and those who became aware of his story to help others

Incredible True Story

[bethandbrandy · 10/10 · 21 November 2022]

This is a must watch!. One man changed the lives of thousands and wanted nothing in return. His story remained his secret for 50 years until an old scrapbook tucked away in the attic came to light. Even his wife and son did not know this story. So many rejected the story, but one had the courage to tell it. The legacy of this man has now grown into the thousands. His compassionate heart has allowed us to go to the next frontier. He has inspired thousands of people to just step out and help without judgment. We can each find a way to change the world with just a bit of caring. Think about what you can do.