The tragedy of Auschwitz is the backdrop for one of the most incredible true stories of a boxer, Tadeusz ‘Teddy’ Pietrzykowski, interned as a prisoner (AKA Number ’77’) in the new WWII period drama THE CHAMPION OF AUSCHWITZ.
Assigned to help reconstruct the barracks, things seem pretty desperate and oppressive amidst the Nazi regime and the arrival of Jews who are given the promise of a warm meal before their fate is sealed doesn’t bode well. When Teddy nicks an apple for a fellow inmate, the theft is discovered prompting one of the prison guards to play William Tell badly with a pistol with the prisoners.
However, during a rock distribution session and the discovery of Teddy hiding bread under his fatigues, he fights a guard and demonstrates his boxing ability that has helped him through a hundred fights before the war. He is then transferred and becomes the fighting spirit for the Nazi guards. However, Teddy seems to have a bit more in the tank for his fellow convicts….
Who doesn’t like a great boxing yarn? If you are a fan of CINDERELLA MAN and ROCKY, this is clearly one for you. Combine it with the angle of powerful Holocaust visuals, which films like DOWNFALL and SCHINDLER’S LIST have brought to the fore over the last three decades and you have a winning combination of courage and spirit.
Admittedly, there is an air of predictability about the film which encapsulates the Ron Howard and Stallone original, but the film has a workmanlike quality, great production design and music within it – and it is based on the life of a real-life figure who possessed a burning heart, decades before Stallone was inspired by the Muhammad Ali / Chuck Wepner fight that motivated him to write ROCKY in three days for his own million-to-one shot, as the film’s poster proclaimed back in 1976.
The film will certainly remind younger audiences of the historical events, but will equally inspire them to look for strength within themselves when they need to fight their way for a better opportunity.
