“GOD IS YOUR HIDING PLACE”
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
THE HIDING PLACE is a filmed theatrical play based on the memoir by Corrie ten Boom. Corrie was the daughter of a Dutch watchmaker who, along with her family, helped more than 800 Jews escape capture by the Nazi Germany during WWII. The play follows the ten Boom family from the beginning of their efforts, through their imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps, to the end of World War II. When Corrie ten Boom is released, she makes the difficult choice to forgive her captors.
For the video of a play, THE HIDING PLACE has remarkable cinematography and editing. The producers made this production both theatre and cinema. The play is a bit overlong. However, the cast delivers beautiful performances where the light of Christ, which indwelt every member of the ten Boom family’s clandestine operation, shines through the script’s dialogue. Since most of the play is straight from Corrie ten Boom’s words, her Christian worldview is ever-present. THE HIDING PLACE deals frankly with the harsh reality of The Holocaust, viewers of all ages will find THE HIDING PLACE spiritually and morally edifying.
CONTENT:
(CCC, BBB, ACACAC, V, M):
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements: Very strong Christian, biblical worldview where Corrie ten Boom and her family have their faith tested but always stay faithful to Jesus Christ, the play/movie positively portrays a healthy, nuclear family, and it also depicts the evil, godless worldview of National Socialism and Hitler’s Germany and explicitly condemns it;
Foul Language: No foul language;
Violence: Mild instances of violence, including Nazi soldiers beating prisoners, and two characters discuss killing a man to prevent him from turning in innocent people, but they choose not to do so because God commands against murder;
Sex: No sex;
Nudity: No nudity; Alcohol Use: No alcohol use;
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse: No smoking or drugs; and,
Miscellaneous Immorality: Depictions of racism against Jewish people.
MORE DETAIL:
THE HIDING PLACE is a filmed theatrical production based on the eponymous memoir by Corrie ten Boom, the daughter of a Dutch watchmaker who, along with her father and siblings, helped over 800 Jews to escape capture by the Hitler’s National Socialists during the Holocaust. The filmed play follows the ten Boom family from the beginning of their efforts, through their imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps, to the end of World War II, when Corrie ten Boom is released from prison and makes the difficult choice to forgive her captors for the suffering they inflicted.
For the video recording of a play, THE HIDING PLACE has remarkable cinematography and editing. The producers and directors clearly intended from the beginning to make this production simultaneously theatre and cinema. The play is a bit overlong. However, the small cast delivers beautiful performances that make the light of Christ, which indwelt every member of the ten Boom family and their clandestine operation, shine through the dialogue in the script.
Since most of the play is lifted straight from the words of ten Boom herself, reflecting back on her own life, her unapologetic Christian worldview is ever-present in the narrative. Corrie wrestles with having faith in God as she endures the suffering of the Ravensbruck concentration camp. Rather than forcing her to be a model Christian to preach to the audience, as all too many Christian writers are wont to do, playwright A.S. Peterson allows Corrie to be an authentically imperfect human being who faces the challenges of maintaining hope and forgiving her enemies with courage as well as doubt. This enables the character of ten Boom to be a powerful witness to the strength of God’s mercy and protection, especially in THE HIDING PLACE’s heart-wrenching final half-hour. Although the filmed play deals frankly with the harsh reality of Nazi persecution, viewers of all ages will find THE HIDING PLACE spiritually and morally edifying.
