The Only Way

There are literally millions of stories to tell within the context of the Holocaust, one for every personal tragedy of loss, pain or survival.  The Only Way (1970), a Danish production set during the German occupation of 1943, uses this framework to highlight the lesser-known effort by Danish citizens to help their Jewish friends and neighbors escape Nazi persecution. 

The Stein’s are a Jewish family who hardly consider their religion worth mentioning.  Denmark’s concession to German occupation – that its Jewish residents remain unmolested – finds them living under the specter or war, but not imminent danger.  That is, until things change overnight with an about face in policy, sending Jews scrambling to escape to nearby Sweden.  Ordinary residents risk their own lives shuttling friends aboard boats and trains – or hiding them in apartments and hospitals – in an act of moral self-defense.

 

It's certainly an inspiring story and that restores faith in one’s fellow man.  But as a film, The Only Way is on uncertain ground.  Writer-director Bent Christensen is never able to narrow down an official protagonist, shifting viewpoints between the Steins (including Jane Seymour in her first credited role) and Mr. Petersen (Ove Srogoe), a neighbor who goes to incredible lengths to protect them from the Nazis and their own naiveite.  It’s Petersen’s story that winds up being the most compelling, arranging transport, dodging patrols and successfully shepherding his flock despite admitting at one point, “I’m not very good at this sort of thing.”

 

And that’s the real accomplishment celebrated by the film: the courage of an entire country to stand up to a foe against whom they were wildly overmatched.  The Only Way is painted in a drab wash of grays and browns, shot with that particularly soft ‘70s film stock that oozes cinematic appeal.  But it more often than not feels like an educational film, a classroom-friendly version of the Holocaust with just enough edge to feel genuine.  

 

VCI Entertainment presents things in the best possible light, though, with an attractive looking Blu-ray, sporting the equally attractive Jane Seymour on the cover…despite her relatively small role.  Extras include a bonus 1946 documentary – Reunion – which covers the Nazi atrocities in far more horrific detail.