I Am Here; Grade: B

I Am Here is centered around a 98 year old Jewish woman named Ella Blumenthal, whom tells her life story including being a Holocaust survivor, creating a family of her own, and why she continues to spread happiness, joy, kindness, and gratefulness to everyone she meets.

After coming off from a church service: I Am Here is exactly what I needed to continue the momentum of feeling praise for all God has done for me and especially this woman.

It’s a simply told story that runs on a short run time of an hour and thirteen minutes, as it’s moral purpose within this incredible journey of this woman coming out of this worst nightmare possible… That’ll make others be a little more grateful and to be more kinder to others, if this woman could be so full of love after all she’s gone through, you can too. This woman has every right to feel some kind of anger and frustration, however she chooses to be ever so sweet and loving because she well knows that there is no point in continue on a life with bitterness, when God has done so much for this woman's life. When the Nazis literally wiped away majority of her family: Through this woman’s determination to continue battling through survival as she received minimal signs that God’s presence is well within her as well as continuing to live on for her niece, God not only granted her a life worth living but also granted her with a gigantic family of her own. Though a tragic and saddening story, it’s also a feel good empowering story that’ll help inspire viewers to be a little more grateful for their own life and know bad times don’t stick around forever, as long as you continue on and put your trust in God… Surely you’ll achieve a life worth living, it’s beautiful.

The 2-D animation was quite cute, as it helped contribute majority of the story telling and how it looked visually. I understood there was a budget on the animation as it’s obvious they were restricted, however I found the animation good for what it is.

Overall, I Am Here is a solid documentary film. I recommend checking this one out. -Mitch Smietana