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Edges of the Lord
Edges of the Lord is a thought-provoking movie starring Haley Joel Osment and Willem Dafoe. Osment plays a Polish jew, Romek, who has to seek exile with a Catholic family during World War 2. In order to hide his Jewish heritage, Romek must assimilate completely with his new environment, hiding all visible traits that may betray him. To further his troubles, his new family and neighbors prove suspicious and unwilling to receive him, with the marked exception of Tolo, a younger boy.
The motion picture portrays the difficulty of maintaining one's identity when it is detestable to the powers that be. Romek has to cope with the conflict inherent in accepting his First Communion to save his life when doing so will go against his deeply-held beliefs. Perhaps even worse, Romek unexpectedly finds himself in a position where his worst enemies treat him as one of their own, forcing a horrible moral dilemma on the boy.
To mirror the political extremism of the Nazis, Tolo becomes infatuated with religious delusions and takes on a messianic role, with tragic consequences. This may be a comment on what the harsh ideological polemic of the time may do to a vulnerable mind such as a child's.
A slight mentorship theme is occasionally present in the movie, in that the priest, played by Willem Dafoe, understands the difficulties Romek faces and tries to guide him through them, ultimately providing a partial answer to his internal conflict.
