Customer Reviews

I'm Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People Who Lived During the Holocaust

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Note: Amazon has merged the product pages together for two seperate items--the Holocaust documentary and the Joaquin Phoenix faux documentary of the same title. Many people have contacted them (including myself) about this discrepancy starting in October of 2010 and yet here we still are. No one submitting reviews for either film is "wrong" or "mistaken." It is a technical error that has NOTHING whatsoever to do with individual reviewers despite the apparent response of casting negative votes back and forth which serves neither film.

Madness or high-concept performance art? "I'm Still Here," the faux documentary about actor Joaquin Phoenix, is likely to baffle and divide its audience. When Phoenix decided to quit acting, and seemingly hygiene, to pursue his passion of becoming a rap star--his friend and brother-in-law Casey Affleck was there to follow and film the inevitable fall from grace. There was rampant speculation from the get-go about the legitimacy of the endeavor (especially as it was all being filmed), but the longer the debacle played out--the less it seemed to matter. Fake or real, the damage was being done. Now, almost two years later, to have the entire experience and film declared a ruse seems the ultimate act of futility. Who, exactly, is the joke on? And to what purpose?

"I'm Still Here" covers all the trappings of a celebrity life in descent. Drug use, prostitutes, public intoxication, brawling and a "star" desperate to be taken seriously despite his best efforts to act a fool--we've seen the act before in countless narrative films and fictionalized biographies. We get a repeat of the infamous Letterman interview, the concert performance that became a YouTube sensation, and the incident where Phoenix attacked a concert goer. We also get to see moments of celebrity intervention--Edward James Olmos tries the spiritual approach while Ben Stiller tries to get Phoenix back to work. Much of the film is about a scramble to get into the music industry. Phoenix aggressively pursues P. Diddy, the film's most inspired performance, who is mainly just concerned about getting paid. Now that's real! And it all concludes on a rather ridiculous "arty" note which has got to be satirical.

Affleck has maintained that this is his brother-in-law's best performance. The problem is--I don't know if I believe him, I don't know that I care, and I don't know if it matters? At some point, you have to ask yourself "what's the point?" As near as I can figure, the only analysis has "I'm Still Here" as a discussion on the nature of reality and/or the nature of celebrity. On either account, is it relevant and necessary? When it was declared "I'm Still Here" was a hoax, that really doesn't change much of the on-screen content. Phoenix deconstructed his life on camera and those bad acts were put in the film. Even if some of the private incidents were staged (who knows? who cares?), the public behavior earned Phoenix notoriety as a drug addled buffoon. So whether he was living the life depicted or "acting" like he was living the life depicted, there isn't much real difference. What's that say about reality? Not so sure. And with celebrity meltdowns almost a monthly occurrence, does a "fake" one merit much interest? Not so sure.

The alternate option, and the one I tend to gravitate towards, is that it's all really quite meaningless in the long run. I think Affleck's "truthful" revelation while the film was in limited release was meant to fuel interest and debate. Duh? Fine, then, let's set a different set of standards. As a fictional experiment, I still think the film and its topic play out too often in real life to be particularly revelatory here. In terms of entertainment, I'd make the same argument. At best, I'd say that "I'm Still Here" is a fascinating excursion in self-indulgence both by Phoenix and Affleck. Whether that's enough will depend on your interest in the pair. I was mildly interested when all is said and done. KGHarris, 10/10.

Please be aware that this item is about young people during the Holocaust. Ten of the 12 reviews to date are about another DVD by the same title. Amazon, please fix this!!

Watching this chain of tragic stories, I felt a profound sense of soul-tugging sadness, the kind where it rains in your heart . . .Yet the experience is simultaneously uplifting because we feel their strength despite their pain, sadness and gnawing hunger, and we want to fight against the horrors of the contemporary world. Viewing this film is a truly enobling experience.

I found this film in a Holocaust resource trunk I was lucky enough to borrow from the Washington State Holocaust and Resource Center a few years ago. I played this film for my 9th graders during our Night and Holocaust unit, and I found the film to be one of the best resources to use during our unit. Many students told me they could relate to some of the real-life teenagers in the documentary. While assessing their understanding of the concepts and information they learned during the unit, I found many students used this film to help explain their answers and ideas about the Holocaust. I will definitely use this film again!

I'm Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People Who Lived During the Holocaust is such a wonderful video for people of all ages to watch, but especially teens. I first watched it when it was aired on MTV in 2008. Immediately, I was haunted. I have never felt so connected to people before in my life. Moby did the music for the special documentary and he captured anguish, pain, and small amounts of freedom perfectly. The whole package is a small, short glimpse into the minds of real suffering humans... and it is well suited for people who cherish the history of the Jewish Holocaust, like myself, and for people who know nothing of it.

First off...this is a movie about the HOLOCAUST, not some terrible actor--I think many people are confused...

I use this with my High School Students. It is Fantastic!

I highly recommend it.

This is such a sad story, to see such a talented man trying to find himself in sex,drugs and bizarre behavior. He needs to get a wakeup call before he goes the way of his brother, and learn to live the life of a plain man without abusing his body, to save himself. Nothing but tragedy in this film, I wish him all the best.

This is just a little caveat to all you teachers out there. I was planning on showing I'm Still Here this afternoon as a means to introduce the collection of Holocaust diaries: Salvaged Pages. I never thought to make sure the DVD actually works--who does? It turns our my copy of the DVD is completely defective. It won't work on any classroom computer nor any of our DVD players.

Must dash--now I need to plan something else!

The trailer intrigued me and I was not let down. It was a bit dark and uncomfortable at times, but what amazing acting. Maybe this was a partial tribute to how his brother, River, passed on. I don't know, but I have never seen anything like this and was riveted the whole time. Very thought provoking.

Let me first say that I've always been a fan of Juaquin. I adored him in "I Walk the Line."
Secondly, let me say that he had me fooled after the David Letterman show. I seriously thought he was going down the same dark path as his brother River.
It hurt me to see him like that and my heart ached for him.
Once this was revealed as a hoax, I was SO happy, but could not understand why he would sabotage his career like he did. I just HAD to see the movie.
Now, I am sorry that I did. Let me begin by saying that I am not a prude. And NOT ALOT offends me. THIS IS OFFENSIVE!!! If this is truly how he is in real life, I will never again take interest in his career or watch one of his movies. The vulgar language, the disgusting sexual content, the drug use...I have to believe (sadly) that most of this is TRULY who he is. Even HE is not THAT good of an actor.
GREAT WORK JUAQUIN AND CASEY!!! Truly career sabotage! Don't waste your money...the story isn't even good....and the ending is not satisfying (I kept hoping for something good to come out of all of the crap - it never did). It just ends.