When Andrew Jacobs spent several late-summer days at Four Seasons Lodge, a close-knit Catskills bungalow colony, in 2005, he was there to write a feature article for the New York Times. But his experiences amid the longstanding community of aging but spirited Holocaust survivors affected him well beyond completing the article. Rapidly and efficiently, the Times staffer morphed into a documentary filmmaker. He felt compelled to capture the unique atmosphere and vivid personalities of the place particularly when he learned that the colony had been sold to a developer, and that the summer of 2006 was scheduled to be its last.
His film, Four Seasons Lodge, is a portrait of the daily and weekly rhythms of the place, and of these 80-somethings most of them Polish Jews who not only survived unimaginable horrors in their youth, but went on to live long, rich lives. Shadowed by their ineradicable personal Holocaust histories, they nonetheless confront life with gusto, and through their shared experiences, form a close-knot community at this colony.
"I think that was the thing that drew me to them was this incredible dichotomy this contrast between giddy, joyous, fun-loving atmosphere part of the time, and then at other times you couldn't escape how grim and heavy and dark they are," Jacobs said, during a recent phone interview. Now a Beijing correspondent for the Times, he had just flown in for the film's opening this week at the IFC Center—its first theatrical run following numerous presentations at film festivals. Some of the residents, many of whose arms bear the ever-present reminder of ID numbers from Auschwitz and other camps, are forthcoming with narratives of what happened to them and their families under Hitler. For others, the memories are too painful to discuss.
Jacobs' four cinematographers were led by the venerable Albert Maysles, who came on board eagerly. They shot a total of 250 hours, following the colony's rhythms from the rainy early-June arrival day as old bonds are renewed, to the bittersweet farewells as autumn arrives. Saturday-evening celebrations, with everyone dressed to the nines, alternate with quiet, introspective conversations around the unpretentious but pleasant surroundings. Jacobs shuttled back and forth, using his vacation time and weekends while continuing with his "day job" at the Times.
Among the film featured personalities are Carl Potok, the colony's indomitable president, and Hymie Abramowitz, his ornery assistant and the place's Mr. Fix-it. Despite their advanced years, they are determined to perform all necessary chores and repairs themselves. The dynamics of their longstanding marriages are quietly revealed during scenes at their homes, as are other poignant relationships. There are Tobias, who recalls being the sole Jew on his soccer team, and Lola, who have gotten together after each lost a spouse and who had originally met amid the horrors of the death camps. Especially vivid impressions are made by Olga and Genya, both of whom lost their husbands and whose close friendship and mutual support is touchingly clear. Inevitably, certain relationships are altered by illness.
"When Hymie told me they were going to sell, and the next summer would be the last, I sprang into action. I just threw it together," Jacobs explained. A journalist to the core, he noted that "I only really function with a deadline anyway so having that kind of deadline looming over me motivated me to make it happen. I got people together who could shoot, and help me raise the money and we just dove in.
"I thought I would see more serious types of personality dysfunction, with people that scarred and traumatized, but I was amazed how together they are. They're the fittest of the survivors -- living to be 80, after enduring what they went through during the Holocaust. They're so strong, physically and psychologically; here they are in their eighties, still dancing around." Some of them will be on hand for the film's Wednesday opening
It was "the looming end of the era" that inspired a sense of urgency in Jacobs. Beyond the threatened end to this decades-old summer colony, there was the reality of these aging witnesses to history. "Holocaust survivors have always been a presence, in my life, a reminder of this horrible period in history. In ten years, they pretty much won't exist. There's a certain disconnect when you no longer have the people who actually experienced it."
>Four Seasons Lodge
Directed by Andrew Jacobs
