Jank Azman Movies

An American journalist takes on the dangerous responsibility of rescuing nearly a thousand refugees from a Nazi concentration camp in this two-part made-for-TV movie based on a true story. In the early days of America's involvement in World War II, Ruth Gruber (Natasha Richardson) is a reporter who has been giving particular attention to a recent story: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in violation of United States policies of the day, has announced he will grant asylum in America to 982 European refugees from Nazi labor camps. But someone needs to escort the prisoners to the U.S.; Gruber, of European ancestry and Jewish faith, volunteers for the assignment over the objections of her parents (Anne Bancroft and Martin Landau). Gruber travels to Italy on behalf of Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes (Hal Holbrook), where she helps the refugees board the U.S.S. Henry Gibbins. But Gruber discovers that the American sailors manning the ship regard their passengers as little better than their Nazi jailers, and the State Department declares, upon their arrival in the United States, that all the refugees are to be housed in a camp in Oswego, NY -- even those who have families willing to sponsor them in America. Gruber realizes her work with the refugees is far from done, and she bravely battles against both bureaucracy and prejudice to win both dignity and fair treatment for the new settlers. Haven was originally broadcast on the CBS television network on February 11 and 14, 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Not to be confused with the cable-television movie Strange Justice, which aired the same evening on August 29, 1999, the NBC TV movie Cruel Justice stars A. Martinez as Jerry Metcalf, the intensely protective single father of 16-year-old Amy Metcalf (Nicki Lynn Aycox). Already distraught over the fact that Amy has been raped, Jerry goes completely over the edge when his daughter's attacker beats the rap in court. Taking the law into his own hands, Jerry dedicates his life to wreaking vengeance against the smirking perpetrator. The fact that Cruel Justice was run at the tail end of the 1998-1999 TV season, a time when few people were watching, is indicative of NBC's nervous feelings about the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this tuneful teen drama, two disparate high school students, he a street-wise Italian rebel and she a sweet naive Jewish girl, fall in love while preparing for the annual "Sing," a competition between seniors and the other grades attending Brooklyn schools. It is the caring school music teacher who involves the street-tough, for he sees tremendous talent in the youth. With the help of the teacher and the affection of the young woman, the angry youngster, mends his self-destructive ways and makes the annual musical a smashing success. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide