The World Will Tremble (2025) - Film Review

      The World Will Tremble, 2025.

      Written and Directed by Lior Geller.

      Starring Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Jeremy Neumark Jones, David Kross, Michael Epp, Anton Lesser, George Lenz, Charlie MacGechan, Leonard Proxauf, Tim Bergmann, Adi Kvetner, Aleksandra Kostova, Oliver Möller, and Danny Scheinmann.

      SYNOPSIS:

      This is the astonishing, untold true story of a group of prisoners who strive for a seemingly unattainable escape from the first Nazi death camp, aiming to provide the first eyewitness account of the Holocaust.

      In Nazi-occupied Poland, there is evident frustration among the overworked and mistreated laborers in The World Will Tremble, with some proposing that now is the moment to escape. With just a small knife (found while digging on the job), a brief chance to flee arises. However, another laborer argues that survival is paramount, urging them to endure. Unbeknownst to them, the Germans are progressing towards establishing the first death camp, using gas chambers preceded by deadly gas trucks as a horrific introduction to mass murder. Even more disturbing is that these murderous tactics developed because, as one Nazi gleefully remarks, the act of killing Jews had become psychologically traumatic for the Germans.

      Writer/director Lior Geller’s grim yet suspenseful The World Will Tremble is largely self-contained, unfolding over a few days and gradually revealing the extreme genocidal measures the Germans have in store. Not surprisingly, the narrative transitions from one tragedy to another, each increasingly disturbing than the last, ranging from Jewish individuals burying their compatriots—sometimes finding loved ones— to fatal transports and cruel shooting accuracy tests where bottles are placed on laborers' heads for target practice. And, for reasons hard to fathom, conventionally attractive women are spared.

      However, this film is not merely a barrage of trauma. It builds tension towards a suspenseful escape when two laborers deem it necessary to spread the alarm about the Germans' genocidal plans. Yet, one might argue that it feels somewhat exploitative to take these horrors and frame them as a typical cat-and-mouse thriller, complicated by characters that blend together with few distinct traits; their defining characteristic appears to be their willingness to escape or not.

      Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Jeremy Neumark Jones deliver strong performances (particularly the former, who progressively breaks down as he shares the horrifying truths with a stunned rabbi), but the characters lack depth. The film primarily focuses on presenting the facts, which is acceptable here as it maintains engagement and leads to an intense finale.

      While creating something innovative in this subgenre of historical atrocities during World War II is challenging, The World Will Tremble manages to rise above that familiarity through skillful and harrowing filmmaking. There is a palpable escalation of horror surrounding the events, culminating in a fierce escape that results in a profound emotional breakdown. The cumulative emotional impact resonates deeply.

      Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★

      Robert Kojder is affiliated with the Chicago Film Critics Association, Critics Choice Association, and Online Film Critics Society. He also serves as the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews and follow my BlueSky or Letterboxd.