08/05/2022
This weekend on the Connors Corner segment of Ask the Lawyer, we were honored to have on one of the greatest film directors working today, Ms. Agnieszka Holland. With works ranging from World War II odysseys, "Europa Europa," "In Darkness," and, "Angry Harvest," to spiritual and philosophical pieces such as, "To Kill a Priest," and, "The Third Miracle," as well as work in television directing episodes of shows ranging from, "The Wire," to, "House of Cards," she has made quite the mark on European and American screens alike.
Ms. Holland has had an extraordinary life and her family bore witness to much of the worst ideology wrought in twentieth century Europe. Her paternal grandparents were lost in the Holocaust, and her mother both shielded Jews during the Holocaust and was a member of the Polish resistance. Later, Ms. Holland herself was arrested in the midst of the Prague Spring for her support of the dissident movement.
For the show this weekend we discussed one of her more recent offerings, "Mr. Jones," which detailed the large-scale coverup of the atrocities of the Holodomor, when Stalin brought about the horrific starvation of Ukrainians and many in Western media - particularly Walter Duranty of the New York Times, who won a Pulitzer Prize as Moscow Bureau chief all while glossing over Soviet atrocities - considered it convenient to ignore. To Ms. Holland, this has become especially relevant given the recent invasion of Ukraine, as the history of persecution for this beleaguered nation is being rapidly forgotten or outright ignored by those sympathetic to the expansionist Russian narrative. Most disturbingly, she noted, the popular image of Stalin among many Russians has been largely whitewashed, and the increase in popularity for one of the monsters of the last century bodes ill for what the monsters of this one may be able to get away with via manipulation and propaganda.
"Mr. Jones," is available to watch on YouTube.
