Tales of survival by MATTHEW HAYS I confess, I cringed a bit at the thought of attending a press screening of yet another documentary about the Holocaust. I've been seeing a lot of them lately, and since Steven Spielberg made Schindler's List, it seems like there's been a rush order on making as many as possible. Don't get me wrong--it's an entirely worthy subject. But how many times can we see standard-issue, talking-head interviews intercut with archival footage of concentration camps? Somehow, The Last Days, though made with entirely conventional documentary techniques, manages to shock, horrify and inspire through the testimonials of several survivors. The film begins with their fond childhood reminiscences, which are abruptly interrupted when the Nazis invade Hungary and they are shuttled off to Auschwitz. From there, the tales are brutally familiar, with families divided and murders commonplace. But the film doesn't stop with the characters' liberation in '45. Director James Moll takes the investigation further, following some of the survivors as they revisit their homeland and the camps today (most have since settled in the U.S. or Israel). One bitter scene has a woman confronting a Nazi doctor about the thousands (including her sister) who died while in his Auschwitz medical experimentation "clinic." (Which begs the question: why isn't this guy behind bars??) But what is most stunning (and when I heard most of the sobs from the audience) is the incredible courage and resilience the survivors exhibit in their post-camp lives. Plagued with questions about why the Holocaust happened, as well as why they survived while others didn't, the folks profiled in The Last Days are simply amazing tributes to the human spirit (I know, it sounds hokey, but see this movie and you'll understand). Opening Friday, June 18; see listings. Montreal filmmaker Marielle Nitoslawska's experimental work, the beautiful and eloquent Sky Bones, opens this Friday at the Ex-Centris (see rep listings). This truly audacious film is a profile of celebrated artist Domingo Cisneros. "I really want people who watch the film to think about our relationship to nature," says Nitoslawska. "Although environmental issues aren't all that in today, it's obviously still a vital issue. We must change our relationship to nature." At once a celebration of the environment--Sky Bones was shot in Quebec and Mexico--it's also an intriguing profile of Cisneros. After the immense success of Project Grizzly, I was itching to see what Peter Lynch would come up with next. The NFB-produced story of a man's obsession with creating a Grizzly-bear-proof suit of armour gained attention when Quentin Tarantino, while being interviewed by Charlie Rose, called the film one of his favourites of the year. Thus I am sorry to report that The Herd, Lynch's dramatic film about one man's obsession with a herd of reindeer (opening at the Parc, June 18) is a true disappointment. Though beautifully shot, it evokes every bad stereotype about Canadian cinema: deadening voiceovers, wooden acting, too much attention to the landscape. Whoa, this one left me downright frosty.