Peter (Knox Gibson) is a young German boy living in the 1930s with just one arm. He lives with Eva (Hanneke Talbot), his elder sister who really serves more like a surrogate mother. When the Nazis begin going after people with disabilities, Peter sees no alternative but to go on the run. As he does, he crosses paths with an SS officer (Justin Mader) who's immediately out for blood.
This new short film (I felt I should shake things up and review a short this time) from Netflix and writer-director Ashley Eakin and co-writer Shaun Lovering serves as a powerful reminder that although the plight of the Jews under the Third Reich was catastrophic, the Nazis also persecuted other groups like the handicapped and in that case, primarily handicapped children. Eakin hauntingly and bravely distils that brutal historical reality to its essence while also managing to tell a nuanced and rather unpredictable survival narrative in 13 minutes. Gibson makes for a very natural and relatable young protagonist, Talbot never overdoes her character's innocent sweetness and Mader infuses his villainous role with true presence. Completing the emotional effect, the score is tactfully hard-hitting and the photography strikingly captures the cruel atmosphere of both the era and the wintry landscape. Forgive Us Our Trespasses, which is in English if you're wondering, convincingly makes its point. 9/10.
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