The Windermere Children

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The Windermere Children

2020

1h 28m

Drama

War

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

11 Reviews

93%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

On a summer night in 1945, a bus carrying orphaned Holocaust survivors heads from Carlisle Airport to the Calgarth Estate in Lake Windermere, England. They speak no English and are deeply traumatized by their time in the death camps.

Dorothy Rabinowitz

Wall Street Journal

Impressively devoid of sentimentality, grim in its facts, and moving in its portrait of the determined effort to rescue these young lives.

Apr 2, 2020

Full Review

Deborah Ross

The Mail on Sunday (UK)

The Windermere Children told this story as a drama, which is a good thing, as memories can't be allowed to fade, and it all helps, but it was serviceable rather than anything more memorable.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 3, 2020

Full Review

Rachel Cooke

New Statesman

Watching it, I came to regard its longueurs as necessary breathing spaces and its lapses into sentimentality as forgivable.

Jan 30, 2020

Full Review

Javier Ocaña

El Pais (Spain)

The film is better when viewed as a family film rather than a drama. [Full Review in Spanish]

Aug 31, 2020

Full Review

Carla Hay

Culture Mix

The Windermere Children is an emotionally powerful film (although by no means as harrowing and masterfully made as Schindler's List) that tells an important part of the Holocaust refugee story.

Jul 16, 2020

Full Review

Jeffrey Edalatpour

KQED (San Francisco)

Set 75 years in the past, The Windermere Children makes a brief nod to the contemporary persistence of xenophobia and anti-Semitism -- and the moral necessity of combatting such hatred.

Apr 8, 2020

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Andy C

This is such an important and wonderful film. I’m still filled with emotion as I write this. It’s essential viewing for every Jew and very important for everyone else. It’s the kind of film that increases understanding of experiences we can’t possibly imagine, and surely that makes everyone better.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/04/25

Full Review

Audience Member

Here are some fascinating facts that may not all be spot on. Dive in and decide for yourself what’s authentic and intriguing!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/25/25

Full Review

Jane M

I've seen this twice now. Both times I've loved it. It managed to be moving without being schmaltzy. Funny and endearing. Life affirming. I don't cry at many things but this brought tears to my eyes many times. Wish there more things on tv this well done

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/30/25

Full Review

Rory D

Really interesting and intriguing particularly the extras running through the corridors with loaves of bread!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/05/24

Full Review

Dave B

I'm a bit biased as my father was one of "The Windermere Children". They captured the story brilliantly. I'm glad "The Boys" story will not be lost to history.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/18/24

Full Review

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Michael Samuels

Director

Thomas Kretschmann

Actor

Romola Garai

Actor

Iain Glen

Actor

Tim McInnerny

Actor

Marcel Sabat

Actor

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Synopsis

On a summer night in 1945, a bus carrying orphaned Holocaust survivors heads from Carlisle Airport to the Calgarth Estate in Lake Windermere, England. They speak no English and are deeply traumatized by their time in the death camps.

Director: Michael Samuels
Screenwriter: Simon Block
Production Co: Wall to Wall Media, Ltd.
Genre: Drama, War
Original Language: English
Runtime: 1h 28m

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