''Varian's War'' (aka ''Varian's War: The Forgotten Hero'') is a 2001 joint Canadian/American/United Kingdom film

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

drama. The film was written and directed by

Lionel Chetwynd Lionel Chetwynd (born January 29, 1940) is a British-American screenwriter, director and producer. Life and career Lionel Chetwynd was born to a Jewish family in Hackney, London, the son of Betty (née Dion) and Peter Chetwynd. His family move ...

, based on the life and wartime exploits of Varian Fry who saved more than 2,000 Jewish artists from

Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...

, the conquered ally of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. ''Varian's War'' stars William Hurt, heading an

all-star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...

of Julia Ormond, Matt Craven,

Maury Chaykin Maury Alan Chaykin (July 27, 1949 – July 27, 2010) was an American-Canadian actor. Described as "one of the most recognizable faces in Canadian cinema," he was best known for his portrayal of Rex Stout's detective Nero Wolfe on the televi ...

Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin (March 26, 1934 – June 29, 2023) was an American actor, filmmaker and musician. In a career spanning seven decades, he received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony A ...

and

Lynn Redgrave Lynn Rachel Redgrave (8 March 1943 – 2 May 2010) was a British and American actress. During a career that spanned five decades, she won two Golden Globe Awards and was nominated for two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards, two Em ...

Plot

While in Berlin during ''

Kristallnacht ( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...

'' in 1938, journalist Varian Fry witnesses the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

s' brutal treatment of Jews. He was helpless and physically sick as the SA brown-shirts clubbed their victims to the ground. The experience left him with a resolve to do something to help the Jews. Back in the United States, Fry begins to canvass his influential friends and acquaintances, only to find indifference or even

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

. Learning that the Nazis have targeted artists and

intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...

, he approaches the State Department with a plan and a few prominent names, such as artist

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...

, scrawled on a list. When the State Department tries to block his plans to head back to Europe, Fry finds an ally in First Lady

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

, who intervenes on his behalf. She specifically asks Fry to check on

Lion Feuchtwanger Lion Feuchtwanger (; 7 July 1884 – 21 December 1958) was a German Jewish novelist and playwright. A prominent figure in the literary world of Weimar Republic, Weimar Germany, he influenced contemporaries including playwright Bertolt Brecht. ...

, imprisoned without charge by the French in the Camp des Milles internment camp. In 1940, heading for

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

the nominally unoccupied ''

zone libre The ''zone libre'' (, ''free zone'') was a partition of the French metropolitan territory during World War II, established at the Second Armistice at Compiègne on 22 June 1940. It lay to the south of the demarcation line and was administered b ...

'' in the southern part of Nazi-conquered

metropolitan France Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the ...

, where he knows that Jewish artists have taken refugeFry arrives with money to bribe officials. While U.S.

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

Jamieson is intransigent and rude to him, Fry later learns that Vice Consul Harry Bingham is an ally, as Bingham has worked with Waitstill and Martha Sharp, taking Feuchtwanger,

Hannah Arendt Hannah Arendt (born Johanna Arendt; 14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) was a German and American historian and philosopher. She was one of the most influential political theory, political theorists of the twentieth century. Her work ...

, and Marc and Bella Chagall into his own home. The Chagalls, like many other expatriates, believe they are safe in Vichy France, willfully ignoring the article in the terms of the French surrender stating that France must immediately hand over any French citizen that the Nazis should demand. Word spreads quickly in Marseille that an American will help Jews to escape Vichy France. In setting up an office out of his hotel room, Fry encounters Miriam Davenport, who helps him screen the numerous refugees that begin lining up at his hotel. Two other accomplices approach Fry, Albert Hirschman, a Jewish con-man that he names "Beamish", and Bill Freier, a counterfeit expert. With picture-perfect forged passes and identification cards, Fry begins to send Jewish artists out of France to Spain where they can arrange transport to the United States. Both French and German officials suspect that Fry is deceitful and assign agents, such as

Nazi SS The ''Schutzstaffel'' (; ; SS; also stylised with SS runes as ''ᛋᛋ'') was a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II. It bega ...

Oberstleutnant () (English: Lieutenant Colonel) is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, ...

'' Marius Franken, to follow him. With French collaborators turning in Jews, an urgency to leave begins to take hold. Even Chagall now joins with author

Heinrich Mann Luiz Heinrich Mann (; March 27, 1871 – March 11, 1950), best known as simply Heinrich Mann, was a German writer known for his sociopolitical novels. From 1930 until 1933, he was president of the fine poetry division of the Prussian Academy ...

and others in seeking passage out of Marseille. Fry and Davenport decide to shepherd a large group of frightened refugees, first on a train, then taking the group on a long hike through a mountain forest to a checkpoint where, if their documents will be accepted, they will be free to enter neutral Spain. Despite some near misses, the group makes it to freedom. In just under one year, ending with his expulsion in September 1941, Fry's clandestine underground escape route over the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

eventually frees more than 2,000 artists, authors, scientists and intellectuals from Vichy France, including some who are listed onscreen in the background of the closing credits: Chagall, Arendt,

Jacques Lipchitz Jacques Lipchitz (26 May 1973) was a Lithuanian-born French-American Cubist sculptor. Lipchitz retained highly figurative and legible components in his work leading up to 1915–16, after which naturalist and descriptive elements were muted, domi ...

, Hans Bellmer,

André Masson André-Aimé-René Masson (; 4 January 1896 – 28 October 1987) was a French artist. Biography Masson was born in Balagny-sur-Thérain, Oise, but when he was eight his father's work took the family first briefly to Lille and then to Brus ...

Max Ernst Max Ernst (; 2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German-born painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and surrealism in Europe. He had no formal artistic trai ...

Franz Werfel Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of '' The Forty ...

, Ferdinand Springer and Feuchtwanger.

Cast

* William Hurt as Varian Fry * Julia Ormond as Miriam Davenport * Matt Craven as Beamish (Albert Hirschman) *

as Marcello *

as Bill Freier *

as Alma Werfel-Mahler *

Rémy Girard Rémy Girard (born August 10, 1950) is a Canadian actor and former television host from Quebec.Gaetan Charlebois"Girard, Rémy" ''Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia'', December 5, 2023. Early life Born in Jonquière, he is the son of politician Fern ...

as Colonel Joubert (credited as Remy Girard) * Christopher Heyerdahl as Marius Franken * Gloria Carlin as Bella Chagall * Joel Miller as

Vlasta Vrana Vlasta may refer to: *Vlasta (given name) Vlasta is a woman’s name. The Slavic base of the word, vlast, means ''homeland''. It is also the short form of the masculine names Vlastimil and Vlastislav. Name Day *In the Czech calendar: ''Decembe ...

* John Dunn-Hill as

* Ted Whittall as Harry" Bingham * Dorothée Berryman as Mme Fanny

Production

Producers of ''Varian's War'' included Barwood Film's chief executive,

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

and Cis Corman, along with

Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh (Edward Antony Richard Louis; born 10 March 1964) is a member of the British royal family. He is the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the youngest sibling of King ...

, the head of Ardent Productions. The trio acted as executive producers in their first and only collaboration. ''Varian's War'' was filmed entirely in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

with principal photography beginning on May 3, 2000 and having wrapped by June 14, 2000. Additional exteriors and studio shots at Audio Cine Films Inc. took place over August–September 2000. In filming in Canada, a large Canadian supporting cast was assembled that included Christopher Heyerdahl, Remy Girard, Gloria Carlin, Dorothee Berryman as a brothel madame, Pascale Montpetit, Vlasta Vrana, Joel Miller, Maury Chaykin and Aubert Pallascio.

Historical accuracy

When released, ''Varian's War'' was advertised as "The true story of the American Schindler", a claim that was roundly decried as inaccurate by historians. Although loosely based on the life of Varian Fry, the film received a

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

treatment, merging characters and over dramatizing events. Bill Bingham, the son of Hiram Bingham IV, commented: "The film is dreadfully inaccurate and demeaning to Fry, Feuchtwanger, Miriam Davenport and others, despite the apparent desire to honor them."

Reception

''Varian's War'' was telecast on Showtime television network on April 21, 2001 to mainly negative reviews. Darryl Miller of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' wrote: "Noble intentions aside, Varian's War ... is a mess of a movie that leaves viewers with more questions than answers about Varian Fry ... Clumsily constructed and hollowly acted, it's a project that its lead performers – William Hurt and Julia Ormond – along with Barbra Streisand's Barwood Films, should quickly try to bury in their resumes ... Writer-director Lionel Chetwynd fudges a lot of facts, beginning with the implication that Fry founded the Emergency Rescue Committee. Chetwynd also plays fast and loose with depictions of the supporting characters, including Fry's associate, Miriam Davenport (Ormond), and the writer Lion Feuchtwanger." The ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' reported that ''

Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis, and commentary that was published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' was described as a ...

'' columnist Fred Barnes was so impressed with ''Varian's War'' that he sent a video copy to White House aide Karl Rove, and subsequently, with Rove raving about the film, a special screening was arranged for President George W. Bush. "... written and directed by Brit-turned-American Lionel Chetwynd and starring William Hurt as Varian Fry, a Harvard-educated American journalist who rescued 2,000 artists and intellectuals from Nazi-occupied France ..." Hurt's co-stars, Julia Ormond and Lynn Redgrave, Chetwynd and his wife, actress Gloria Carlin, were in attendance. After broadcast by the Showtime Networks/Showtime Entertainment, ''Varian's War'' was also released internationally as ''Varian’s War: A Forgotten Hero'' by

Alliance Atlantis Communications Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. (commonly known as Alliance Atlantis) was a Canadian media company that operated primarily as a specialty service operator in Canada. Alliance Atlantis also had offices in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Los ...

Awards

At the 2001 WorldFest Houston film festival, Lionel Chetwynd won the Gold Special Jury Award (Best Director), while at the 2002 Satellite Awards, Julie Ormand won for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television while ''Varian's War'' won as the Best Motion Picture Made for Television. William Hurt was also nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television. Other nominations included Nicoletta Massone for Best Achievement in Costume Design at the 2002 Genie Awards and Lionel Chetwynd was nominated for the WGA Award (TV) in Original Long Form for the 2002 Writers Guild of America Awards."Awards: 'Varian's War'."
''IMDb''. Retrieved: March 24, 2016.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Subak, Susan Elisabeth. ''Rescue and Flight: American Relief Workers Who Defied the Nazis''. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 2010. .

External links

Varian's War
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Varian's War 2001 television films 2001 films American drama television films American war drama films British war drama films Canadian war drama films Films shot in Montreal Films set in Germany Films set in France Rescue of Jews during the Holocaust 2000s biographical drama films 2000s war drama films Drama films based on actual events American World War II films British World War II films Canadian World War II films Holocaust films 2000 films Canadian drama television films English-language Canadian films 2000 drama films 2001 drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films 2000s British films British drama television films World War II television films English-language war drama films English-language biographical drama films