A Master Plan for Rescue

August 10, 2015
In Newman's quaint yet sprawling historical drama, the lives of a young boy and a Jewish émigré intersect to form an unlikely partnership. Twelve-year-old Jack is suddenly stricken by near-blindness at the exact moment he hears Pearl Harbor has been attacked. When he later witnesses his father's deadly fall into an oncoming subway train, Jack's overwhelming grief compels him to create a magical parallel reality in which performing a patriotic act of valor will redeem his father's love, if not bring his father back. After hearing Nazi saboteurs have come ashore in New York, Jack follows and confronts Jakob, who emerges from beneath the subway car he's repairing to share his story of romance, loss, and eventual escape from Berlin. Within this magically conceived universe they collaborate on a "master plan" to steal the saboteurs' submarine and rescue 23 Jewish children. Featured historical events include Kristallnact (The Night of Broken Glass) and the trans-Atlantic voyage of the S.S. St. Louis (a cruise ship turned troubled refugee vessel). Newman showcases an intricate, expertly woven plot, but the persistent over-explanation of metaphorically significant moments becomes tedious. Nevertheless, a boy processing grief through a reimagining of history is an ultimately affirming tale.