Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List” just turned 30 years old and has been celebrated all over again, especially in a great THR oral history; Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone Of Interest” was nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best International Feature, and it seems like remembering the horrors of Holocaust is a topic of the moment again. It’s pretty perfect timing for “The Tattooist Of Auschwitz,” a mini-series about this very subject.
Starring Melanie Lynskey, Harvey Keitel, and Jonah Hauer-King, “The Tattooist Of Auschwitz” is based on the international bestselling novel by Heather Morris. The series is about the powerful real-life story of Lale Sokolov (Keitel), a Jewish prisoner who was tasked with tattooing ID numbers on prisoners’ arms in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp during World War Two.
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In the series, Keitel plays the older version of the man looking back on his life as a younger man in the camps (played by Jonah Hauer-King). Melanie Lynskey stars as the novel’s writer, listening to and documenting the older man’s memories.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz is an event series inspired by the real-life story of Jewish Holocaust survivors Lali and Gita Sokolov. Lali (Jonah Hauer-King) arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1942, and shortly after arrival, he was made one of the tätowierer (tattooists), charged to ink identification numbers onto fellow prisoners’ arms. One day, he meets Gita (Anna Próchniak) when tattooing her prisoner number on her arm. They experience love at first sight, and so begins a courageous, unforgettable, and human story. Under constant guard from a volatile Nazi SS officer, Baretzki (Jonas Nay), Lali and Gita became determined to keep each other alive.
Around 60 years later, Lali (Harvey Keitel) meets novice writer Heather Morris (Melanie Lynskey). Recently widowed, Lali finds the courage to tell the world his story. In recounting his story to Heather, Lali, in his 80s, faces the traumatic ghosts of his youth and relives his memories of falling in love in the most horrific of places.
“The Tattooist Of Auschwitz” will be available on Peacock in the U.S. and Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland on May 2, 2024. Watch the trailer below.