Based on a true story, writer/director Finn Taylor’s The Optimist tells how Holocaust survivor Herbert Heller sharing his story helps a young teen dealing with her own trauma. It’s a heartfelt tale about how connecting with others and not carrying an emotional burden alone can allow a person to thrive.
Buy The Optimist paperbackOpening in Marin County, CA, 2004, Herbert (Stephen Lang) is told by a doctor to get his affairs in order. He keeps his health a secret from his family, but that’s not all he has kept from them as he as never told them he survived the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. With his end near, he decides he wants to open up about the past. In conjunction with Holocaust Foundation, he agrees to be video recorded for an interview, which takes place at a drug recovery center. There, he connects with Abbey (Elsie Fisher), a young intern who stays at the facility.
Herbert tells Abbey about his growing up in Prague as the Nazis came to power and how his family was shipped off to a concentration camp and what he endured to stay alive as he lost family members. In exchange, Abbey talks about her divorced parents, her friend Sabrina (Ursula Parker), and the complicated feelings she has about Sabrina and her suicide.
Taylor does a good job keeping the viewer engaged with all three storylines, even though the Holocaust story is familiar. The cast does a great job bringing these characters to life, especially the leads Lang and Fisher. Jeff Tweedy’s “Love Is the King” is used on the soundtrack and the modern-sounding song felt incongruous for scenes from the past.
An update is provided about Herbert, who viewers get to see at the end of the film. As there was no update about Abbey, one presumes she was made up, but the impact Herbert had on a young person isn’t as he is shown interacting with a young student who thanks him for sharing his story and states the positive effect that had upon her.
The Optimist is set for a nationwide release on March 11. For those wanting to delve more into the story with others, a discussion guide is available below to download. This is a sponsored post on behalf of Review Wire Media for Trafalgar Releasing.
Discussion Guide:
