It was in 2003 when the New Zealand author Heather Morrisnow working in an Australian public hospital, was introduced to “an old man who might have a story to tell.” That man was Lali Sokolov, a Slovak Jew imprisoned in Auschwitz in 1942.
At that meeting, a friendship began to form, with Sokolov telling his story and extracting a promise from Morris. “When Lali was in the hospital, and had suffered a major stroke, I knew he would not see the sun rise the next day, so I sat down with him and then kissed him goodbye and said: “I will never stop trying to tell your story. That is my promise to you.” And that was on October 31, 2006,” recalls the author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, which has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and which, converted into a series, has been released by Movistar Plus+.
The official synopsis of the series summarizes the story as that of a man who “Shortly after arriving at Auschwitz, he was appointed one of the tattoo artists in charge of engraving identification numbers on the arms of the other prisoners.. One day, he meets Gita while tattooing her prisoner’s number, which gives rise to a love that defies the horror that surrounds them. Thus begins a brave and unforgettable story. Under the constant surveillance of an unstable Nazi SS officer, Lali and Gita strive to keep each other alive.
A powerful story
After 60 years, “now in his eighties, he meets aspiring writer Heather Morris. Recently widowed, he dares to tell his story to the world, finally confronting the traumatic ghosts of his youth and reliving the memories of falling in love with him in the darkest places.”
The fruit of those conversations held by Sokolov and Morris several times a week for years is defined by the executive producers of the series as “a powerful, moving and timely story”. And, without a doubt, the six chapters directed by the Israeli Tali Shalom-Ezer are.
The role of Lali Sokolov is magnificently played by the New Yorker Harvey Keitel (The Piano, Pulp Fiction) and New Zealander Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets, The Last of Us) play Heather Morris.
The music composed by Hans Zimmerwinner of an Oscar for his scores for The Lion King and Dune and a Golden Globe for Gladiator, contributes to the series’ emotional charge.
And there is one more incentive. Love will survive, the main theme of the series, is performed by none other than Barbra Streisandwhich is the first recording made by the artist for a television series.
