The Boy in the Woods is a narrative feature that tells the true story of Maxwell Smart’s experiences during the Holocaust, now on Blu-ray and DVD. Paramount+ is one of the film’s production companies so I expect it’ll hit the streaming platform at some point.

Max Smart (Jett Klyne) is among one of the lucky Jews to escape Nazi persecution. His family–not so much, they would all die. Max would later be hidden by Christian peasant Jasko (Richard Armitage). Like most Jews hiding at the time, luck can only last for so long. Jasko ends up in a stand-off with the Nazis so he soon sends Max to the woods, where it becomes a true battle for survival. He’s just a kid but he is somehow able to survive against all odds. Mind you, the woods are not as lucky, what with the Jew-hunters and partisans. After a number of months, Max eventually meets another Jewish kid hiding from the Nazis, Yanek (David Kohlsmith). They are able to build shelter so as to hide from the Nazis. They later rescue a baby girl but Yanek pays for this with his life.

One of more intriguing choices is how a lot of the World War II/Holocaust violence is off-camera. Obviously, it would be impossible to not show any of the dead bodies on screen. And again, there is a tense stand-off between Jasko and the Nazis, where you think something is about to go drastically wrong. It doesn’t, thank G-d, but it could have been a lot worse.

Rebecca Snow previously directed an award-winning 2019 documentary, Cheating Hitler: Surviving the Holocaust. Unfortunately, the History Channel Canada documentary is not available for American viewers. It followed Canadians Maxwell Smart, Helen Yermus, and Rose Lipsyz, all of which would survive the Holocaust as children. The documentary would eventually lead Snow to a narrative feature adaptation of Smart’s memoir. Maxwell was also involved in the filmmaking process. He was only 10 years old when he went into hiding. Smart would not tell his story for another seventy years, not even to his own children. Following the war, Smart even changed his name, not knowing his new name would be that of a popular sitcom character. It’s not uncommon for survivors to be silent, at least not until after Schindler’s List in 1993. The USC Shoah Foundation would open the doors for many survivors to open up and share their experiences.

I did not attend the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival in large part due to the double strikes. Had I attended, The Boy in the Woods would have been among my priority films to see, aside from the usual Oscar contenders launching at TIFF. No, it’s not because former Kentucky Wildcats basketball star Patrick Patterson is among the film’s executive producers through Undisputed Pictures. It’s because of the fact that the film deals with the Holocaust and it falls under my beat as a Jewish film critic. I’ve had the Blu-ray for close to two months and didn’t even pay attention to the credits on the back cover! Anyway, if you did not know of Maxwell Smart’s name before watching the film, you will now! In fact, you just might find yourself deciding to seek out his memoir of the same name.

The Boy in the Woods was one of my last films to watch prior to turning in my Critics Choice Association film nomination ballot. I’m glad I caught it in time before the deadline. Even though the film is not receiving an awards push with CCA voters, Jett Klyne–previously of WandaVision–turns in one of the best youth performances of the year.

Unfortunately, Yad Vashem’s current rules prevent Jasko Rudnicki from being named as a Righteous Among the Nations. This will never take away the fact that he is a mentsch for saving Maxwell’s life.

As important as it is to see more films about Jewish joy, it is equally important that films like The Boy in the Woods make sure we never forget. It is sad to think that Buczacz once held a population of 8,000 Jews–Maxwell Smart would be one of the fewer-then-100 Jews from the then-Polish town to survive the Holocaust.

DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Rebecca Snow
CAST: Jett Klyne, David Kohlsmith, and Richard Armitage

Menemsha Films released The Boy in the Woods in theaters on March 29, 2024. Grade: 4/5

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