It’s common to hear individuals talk about WWII films in connection with the comment that the best stories are the small ones or those we don’t know about and considering the success of recent war related films such as The Counterfeiters (our review), the Oscar winning film about Germany’s plot to overrun the US and British economies with fake currency, and even the upcoming Tom Cruise extravaganza Valkyrie about a German plan to assassinate Hitler.

Late last year I had the opportunity to catch up with an interesting documentary about WWII featuring one of the many interesting stories to come out of the era. I was very impressed by The Rape of Europa (my original review), a film based on a book by art historian Lynn Nicholas. Directed by Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen and Nicole Newnham, the film focuses on the art which was obsessively “collected” by Hitler and his officers, the fascinating stories of the Monument Men whose sole job was to rescue and protect precious works of art and architecture while everyone else was concerned with blowing the Germans out of the sky and just as interesting, the continued efforts to track down and return pieces of art to their rightful owners. But perhaps most interesting is the constant question of what is more important: a human being or a work of art.

Narrated by Joan Allen, the film is both fascinating and beautiful and well worth a viewing even if you’re not an art history or war aficionado. There is a whole lot of information to take in in one sitting but it never feels long or bogged down. I’ve been looking forward to seeing the film again and it looks like I’ll finally have the opportunity to do so. Actual Films will be releasing the documentary on DVD on September 16th and if it doesn’t show up on your store shelves, worry not. You can pick up your very own copy from Amazon.

Trailer is tucked under the seat.