Official Synopsis:
I'm Still Here brings to life the stories of young people who witnessed first-hand the horrors of the Holocaust, and salutes these brave, young writers who refused to quietly disappear. The diaries come to life through the voices of some of today’s most talented young actors. Photos, text and drawings from the diaries and archival films are skillfully woven with original footage of remnants of a Jewish ghetto, and the powerful journey is intensified through the unobtrusive, evocative music of Grammy Award nominee Moby.
  
Our Take:
It is extremely hard to knock a documentary about the Jewish Holocaust simply because of the importance of educating people about the event in order to prevent similar atrocities from occurring or continuing to occur around the globe.  With that said, I didn’t like I’m Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People Who Lived During the Holocaust.

The movie feels exploitative in a way that only MTV can exploit something.  It turned the Jewish Holocaust into something commercial, a vehicle for trendy politics (Rwanda, Darfur).  The diaries that are read by such Hollywood stars as Elijah Wood, Joaquin Phoenix, and Kate Hudson are equally as affecting as they are important.  Yet, I would much rather read them like the millions who have read The Diary of Anne Frank than have them read to me in an MTV News-style documentary.  Moby’s soundtrack is at times reverential, but also grossly inappropriate.  There are certain life tragedies that do not need a soundtrack.  A soundtrack is supposed to bring something to a film, regardless of the topic, never take away from it.  When one is dealing with such a subject as I’m Still Here does, the very presence of a musical soundtrack strips the images of their power.  Lastly, John Norris’ narration is horrendous.  The “MTV serious” voice is best left for informing us of trivial celebrity matters, not recounting the many horrors of World War II.  It is a shame that it was MTV who spearheaded this 48-minute documentary because of how important its subject matter is and what could have been done with it by a less manipulative creative force.

The following features are contained on the DVD:

* Genocide Today (7 minutes).

* MTV News Segment on I’m Still Here (3 minutes).

* U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Interview with Alexandra Zapruder (9 minutes).

* Printable Study Guide & Information – this feature must be accessed via a PC’s DVD ROM drive.

* Trailer.

I’m Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People Who Lived During the Holocaust is a well-meaning, brief documentary that was doomed by the word “MTV.”  Perhaps, I have an anti-MTV bias, but there are serious matters and trivial matters in life.  MTV is a corporation that deals almost exclusively in the trivial matters of pop music and celebrity gossip; they should stick to that instead of making cheapening attempts at dealing with the serious matters of life that they are ill equipped to handle.

Overall Picture:
Movie: C
DVD: B-

- Matthew Orlando
Staff Writer