THE CHAMPION OF AUSCHWITZ

A WELL-INTENTIONED BUT ULTIMATELY FLAT PORTRAIT OF A REMARKABLE SURVIVOR

Certificate: 15 Director: Maciej Barczewski Cast: Piotr Glowacki, Rafal Zawierucha, Marcin Czarnik, Marian Dziedziel Released: 3 September

Tadeusz ‘Teddy’ Pietrzykowski, a bantamweight-class fighter, had a promising future ahead of him as a pugilist and in 1937 he was crowned Warsaw Champion. Two calamities then unfolded: a careerwrecking injury and the invasion of Poland by the Wehrmacht. After being captured and imprisoned by the Gestapo, the former boxer was tortured, interrogated and sent to Auschwitz-birkenau as part of the first mass transport. There, he became known as Prisoner #77 and for two years Pietrzykowski was forced to box with SS guards and fellow internees. For winning, he was rewarded with extra food rations and his choice of work assignments.

Directed by Maciej Barczewski, The Champion of Auschwitz is a heavily abridged and rather lacklustre biopic that is devoid of dramatic punch. It all feels a bit rote, and it’s also lumbered with didactic scoring arrangements that scream at the audience to feel things instead of letting the images and storytelling guide the viewer’s response. This is a shame, because this should be a powerfully delivered real-life tale of mental and physical endurance, of struggle in a place of constant fear and endless death, of the indomitable human spirit and its ability to remain untouched in the most dreadful of circumstances.

The film’s production design creates a level of grim reality regarding the look of the camp, while the symbolic use of light is simple but effective at conveying Pietrzykowski’s inner resolve and tremendous courage. At just 91 minutes long, including opening and closing credits, the pace is simply too brisk and the storytelling suffers as a result. As it sleepwalks through Holocaust and boxing movie clichés, a feeling of superficiality dominates.