The Mover Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

The Mover Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 1, 2021

An interesting survey might be made out of asking history and/or film buffs if they had ever heard of Oskar Schindler before Schindler's List was released. My hunch is, if respondents were being honest, anyway, that a majority, and perhaps a vast majority, would answer “no”. An attendant hunch of sorts is that even fewer folks will have ever heard of Jānis* Lipke, a Latvian man who, while not matching Schindler’s efforts in terms of sheer numbers, managed to hide a group of Jews in a secret underground bunker like facility and get at least some of them to safety. Lipke’s story is at least somewhat known in the Jewish community, at least for those who continue to document both the horrors and heroism of the Holocaust, but for those unacquainted with it, The Mover serves as a more than suitable introduction.

*Note: Lipke's first name is transliterated in various ways, including Žanis.

The Mover begins in 1941, as Latvia is reeling from incursions by both Russians and Germans. While a bit more contextualizing might have helped to clarify things, it turns out Lipke's daughter Aina (Elza Alberina) is an avowed communist, which is frowned upon by the Nazis, and while Lipke wants to hide her, she ultimately departs for supposedly safer havens behind the Russian lines. Meanwhile, Lipke (Arturs Skrastins) and his wife Johanna (Ilze Blauberga) continue to parent their young son Zigis (Matiss Kipluks) and older boy Alfreds (Henrijs Arajs) as they react to the increasing ostracization and disparagement of the Jewish population in the region. Lipke is already on the Nazis' radar due to his history in "moonshining" (as his wife calls it), but even his supposed job as a Luftwaffe mechanic doesn't really protect him, and he's hauled in before the authorities for a number of perceived infractions.

Amazingly, Lipke's run ins with the authorities seem to only steel him to fight back more in his own way, and the film ultimately documents his successful attempts to both hide and transport Jews to safety. The Latvian Jewish population was not immense to begin with, and so while Lipke managed to save "only" around between forty and sixty people (depending on the source), that turned out to be a relatively significant portion of the Latvian Jews who managed to survive World War II.

The Mover Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Mover is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Menemsha Films and Kino Lorber with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.38:1. The IMDb doesn't have any relevant technical data to share, and I haven't been able to find any authoritative information online elsewhere, but aside from pretty soft and ineffective CGI, this is an appealing sharp and well detailed looking transfer for the most part. A lot of the wintry outdoor material is almost slightly greenish in tone, but still the palette looks decently saturated, and detail levels on things like building materials and fabrics are generally excellent. There are a lot of dark scenes in the film, however, and occasionally fine detail in particular isn't able to peek through the dim lighting very effectively. Cinematographer Andrejs Rudzāts was one of the film's four wins at the Latvian equivalent of the Academy Awards the year of the film's release.

The Mover Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Mover features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 tracks which are mostly in Latvian, though there are sprinklings of other languages that waft in and out of the story. The surround track does a nice job of placing ambient environmental sounds smartly, not necessarily just with regard to the outdoor material, but even in terms of the secret underground lair Lipke hides some of the refugees in. Edgars Rubenis' score also spreads nicely throughout the surround channels. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout this problem free presentation. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Mover Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers includes The Mover (HD; 2:02), along with trailers for several other releases from Menemsha Films.

The Mover Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Mover may frankly not have the emotional resonance of Schindler's List, but it's a reminder that there were good, even heroic, people working unheralded for the most part to aid Jewish people in any number of unexpected locations. Anyone with an interest in the Holocaust or Jewish history in general will find The Mover a worthwhile viewing experience. Technical merits are generally solid, and The Mover comes Recommended.