Who's in It: Nicole Kidman (narrator), Simon Wiesenthal (archive footage), Ben Kingsley
The Basics: Documentary about the life and work of Simon Wiesenthal. Ukrainian-born, he survived the Holocaust but lost his wife and 89 members of his extended family. Then he spent the rest of his life hunting down Nazis.
What's the Deal? This guy helped catch and prosecute more than 1,100 war criminals, usually with very little budget or staff. He was single-minded about it, and after a few decades he began receiving criticism from people who felt he was keeping historical wounds from healing. Of course, those people probably didn't unwittingly live next door to a nice old man who used to send people to the gas chamber.
What to Expect: Standard-issue talking heads, archive footage of interviews, soothing narration from Kidman. It's not breaking any documentary-form ground, but it's an effective and fascinating history lesson and an intriguing argument against forgiving and forgetting.
What Else to Expect: Disturbing sketches Wiesenthal drew during his time at the camp, as well as horrifying Holocaust footage. If you've watched a lot of these documentaries — and there may be more docs about the Holocaust than just about anything else — you might think you'd seen it all by now. But there always seems to be some new horrible photo or archived film footage to jolt you. So be ready for that.
Why Kingsley Is in It: He was a friend of Wiesenthal's and played him in the HBO movie The Murderers Among Us.