A Simple Heroism: A review of Irena’s Vow

MPAA Rating, PG-13
USCCB Rating: Not rated at the time of this review
Reel Rating: 3 out of 5 reels

There have been numerous films about the Holocaust, so many that certain new ones can be viewed as boorish or even patronistic. Yet, as the October 7^th terrorist attack on Israel has demonstrated, it is still a timely and necessary subject. Irena’s Vow tells the story of a Polish woman, barely an adult, who saved the lives of over dozen Jewish people by hiding them in the home of a Nazi official for almost three years. Unlike the dramatic, big budget flair of Schindler’s List or the extensive sweep of Shoah, this film–like its protagonist–is a simple but effective witness to everyday heroism that so often goes unnoticed but to God alone.

Irena (Sophie Nélisse) is an ordinary Polish woman in her late teens: humble, kind, academically minded, and pious. She attends Mass, goes to school for nursing, and little else. Yet her plans are thrown into turmoil when the Nazis invade Poland in 1939. Due to her age, diligence, and non-Jewish ethnicity, she secures a job as a housekeeper, rising through the ranks to eventually becoming the head butler and cook for Major Eduard Rügemer (Dougray Scott), who lives alone in large, confiscated villa. Rügemer is amazed at her skill and pose, easily cooking, cleaning, and keeping house, entertaining large parties without breaking a sweat. He doesn’t know that she has secretly hidden several Jewish couples in the basement who help her in these tasks. For years, she keeps up this noble ruse, though always on the precipice of being discovered.

There’s an widespread assumption that heroes must be grand, magnificent, and famous, but Jesus points out that “the greatest among you will serve the least” and “let not your right hand know what your left is doing.” Nélisse gives a textbook example of a subtle but effective performance, never giving any speeches, rarely raising her voice, allowing her vulnerability to be an asset. No one would think the quiet, mousy housekeeper would be running an underground network of Jewish refugees. Besides being humble, she is remarkably clever. When Rügemer hears noises in the basement, she convinces him it is rats and uses the “extermination time” to better prepare the house for her guests. When a local criminal discovers her secret and tries to blackmail her, she edits the offending letter to make it seem to target Rügemer, who promptly has the man executed.

Louise Archambault’s directing is a masterclass in pacing and anticipation. She constantly creates stress between what Irena, Rügemer, the Jews, and the audience know, keeping the tension high throughout the film. She also has a tremendous eye for space. The house becomes a character itself. The audience becomes intimately familiar with the dining room, the master bedroom, the basement, the ballroom, and the kitchen to the extent that we know if this person goes through that door, he will see something he shouldn’t. She combines classical staging techniques from Hitchcock and theatrical farces in a way I haven’t seen before in a drama such as this one.

The film is not explicitly Christian in its outlook, but it would be impossible for a Pole to ignore the subject. Irena’s Catholicism makes helping these poor souls as natural as brushing one’s teeth before bed; it happens organically, from within, without second thoughts. The subject of abortion is briefly examined when a Jewish couple becomes pregnant; a screaming baby would certainly jeopardize the situation. Ultimately, Irena convinces them to not kill the child, though more for reasons of rebellion than the sanctity of life.

Toward the end of the film, Rügemer discovers Irene’s secret and, recognizing both his duplicity and attraction to Irene, agrees to keep the secret if she becomes his mistress. She complies, which could be seen as a terrible sin, but it’s difficult for the audience to judge her situation. For one, it is not completely consensual. For another, on the other hand, there does appear to be genuine love between them. Rügemer is a ruthless Nazi, but through the years of watching this lonely old man, Irene appears to emphasize with him. Their relationship, like so many of the period, was problematic and complicated. In an ironic twist, when she was named a Righteous Among the Nations decades later by the Israeli government, he was also included in her commendation.

Irene’s Vow is a solid drama that succeeds even apart from its subject. I must admit that I was not excited about screening this film; I have seen so many movies about this topic and am far more interested in Godzilla x Kong: The Lost Empire (which was amazing for very different reasons). Fortunately, I had the opportunity to speak briefly with Nélisse about her role, and she reminded me that, given recent events, this was still a contemporary issue. We might not be in a time or place when it’s necessary to house refugees from a genocidal government, but we can say a kind word on social media, comfort a grieving friend, or visit an ostracized relative. In this way, we are being heroes “to the least among you.”

• A trailer for Irena’s Vow: