A Life Too Remarkable for Fiction: Joseph Bau in Film
Bau: Artist at War tries to be a Hollywood production on a Hallmark budget and therefore leans toward an unevenly executed film with a powerful and worthwhile story about an incredible man at its center.
For those who do not know, Bau refers to Joseph Bau, sometimes known as the Walt Disney of Israel, an extraordinary artist. He is born in Poland, survives ghettos and concentration camps, and immigrates to Israel after the war. From his time in the ghetto through his later years, he works forging documents for Jews trying to flee conflict. Audiences may also recognize him as the man who is married inside a concentration camp, as depicted in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List. He lives an incredible life by any standard—not just for a moment, but over an entire lifetime of service and extraordinary events. It is a dynamic story and one well worth telling on the big screen.
To support it, the actors do a reasonable job. The film largely rests on Emile Hirsch’s performance as Bau, and Hirsch delivers, keeping the viewer captivated throughout the film. Even on a home watch, I avoid the dreaded second screen for the full runtime, largely because of Hirsch’s performance as the main character.
The dialogue is efficient, though somewhat flat. It prioritizes information delivery over nuance, making the film watchable but leaving the viewer wanting more from the script.
The set design and costumes are well done, and the craftsmanship is visible on screen. However, this also seems to be where most of the production budget ends, leading to other noticeable problems.
My largest critique of the film is the hair and makeup, which feel jarring. Seeing the main characters with full heads of well-groomed hair, even during the ghetto and camp scenes, is so distracting that it pulls me out of the film more than once. The wigs used on Bau as an older man in Israel look like something ordered online, and the film’s smaller budget becomes unmistakably visible. The makeup also relies too heavily on the black-and-white cinematography; no one looks hollow or dirty while in the camps. Even a mediocre effort in this area would have helped elevate the film from a fine watch to a good one.
There are several ideas the filmmakers introduce and then abandon, though they could have been used throughout the film to greater effect. For example, in one scene where Rebecca (Inbar Lavi) walks away, cartoon flowers bloom around her. If this stylistic approach ran throughout the film, it would feel intentional and add visual interest. Contrasting the cartoon world Bau sees with the deep horror of the concentration camps could be especially meaningful.
Through the montages, the film clearly attempts to show that even amid horror, Jewish people retain pride and culture. There is a spark reminiscent of Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning or the film Life Is Beautiful, where love and culture persist in the darkest places. However, Bau never quite ignites the message it aims to convey.
The film feels like a throwback to movies that are rarely made anymore. I cannot help but think of Anthony Hopkins’s mid-to-late career films such as Proof (2005), Surviving Picasso (1996), and The World’s Fastest Indian (2005). It recalls smaller-budget films that attempt to capture complex men and stories that do not always fully cohere but remain worth watching.
While reading about Surviving Picasso, I come across a review titled “Good as Complimentary Educational Material,” and that phrase neatly sums up how I ultimately feel about Bau: Artist at War.
This movie is worth your time. It is not a great film, but I watch it on Holocaust Remembrance Day, and in that spirit, we are better for having this story—about an incredible man—shared with the world.
