A Filipino Schindler’s List?! Read on. The Nazis had Jews they wanted to dispose of, and the Filipinos were willing to take them in. Under the guise of boosting the economy, Manuel L. Quezon (Raymond Bagatsing), second President of the Philippines, posted classified ads offering Jews professional jobs in the Philippines. Reasoning that paper is cheaper than Zyklon B, they’d be doing Hitler a favor, taking Jews off his hands for nothing more than the cost of an exit visa. For a brief period, it worked. The Japanese invasion of the Philippines in 1942 put an end to Quezon’s game, but not before over 1200 migrants were saved from certain extinction. It may not always qualify as great cinema, but when it comes to presenting a fascinating, untold, and emotionally rewarding history lesson, you’ll be hanging on every scene. Plus, there’s just enough Tagalog spoken to satisfy the natives in the crowd, but not so many subtitles that it will tax the average American moviegoer. If 1917 put you in the mood for another, far-superior war film, then the one-take gimmickry was worth it. (2019) — Scott Marks
This movie is not currently in theaters.