Paper Clips

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Paper Clips

G,

2004,

1h 22m,

Documentary/

War

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Watchlist

Watchlist

71%

51 Reviews

Tomatometer

74%

2,500+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

71%

Tomatometer

51 Reviews

74%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Searching for an effective way to teach their students about the scale of the Holocaust, school officials in Tennessee devise a unique class project involving paper clips. The middle school students in a rural, heavily Christian community begin collecting the paper clips to represent the Jews who perished in concentration camps in World War II. After millions of the paper clips are collected, the last step is to place them inside a German rail car, a poignant echo of the Final Solution.

Critics Consensus

A touching, though somewhat flat, documentary that follows a homogenous class of white Protestant eighth graders as they learn the importance of tolerance by erecting a monument to the 6 million victims of the Holocaust.

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Mary Brennan

Seattle Times

Mar 25, 2005

2.5/4

It's a remarkable story, and well worth seeing, particularly for its handful of genuinely affecting moments.

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Jonathan Curiel

San Francisco Chronicle

Mar 4, 2005

3.5/4

What makes Paper Clips so powerful and moving is the way everyone in the film seems affected by the Whitwell project. The students change. The teachers change. The townspeople change.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Feb 25, 2005

3/4

Not a sophisticated or very challenging film, nor should it be. It is straightforward, heartfelt and genuine.

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Sandie Angulo Chen

Common Sense Media

Dec 31, 2010

4/5

Docu is the best introduction to the Holocaust for tweens.

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Matthew Turner

ViewLondon

Oct 14, 2006

2/5

Interesting and frequently moving documentary but it misses several opportunities to widen the scope and make some important points.

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Rachel Gordon

Filmcritic.com

Mar 23, 2006

4/5

the message attached is genuine and worth listening to

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Ron P

Jul 11, 2010

interesting. i wish all schools did simillar projects to think about others and stop racism and hate

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Joe Fab

Director

Elliot Berlin

Director

Tom Bosley

Actor

Joe Fab

Writer

Bob Weinstein

Executive Producer

Harvey Weinstein

Executive Producer

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Synopsis

Searching for an effective way to teach their students about the scale of the Holocaust, school officials in Tennessee devise a unique class project involving paper clips. The middle school students in a rural, heavily Christian community begin collecting the paper clips to represent the Jews who perished in concentration camps in World War II. After millions of the paper clips are collected, the last step is to place them inside a German rail car, a poignant echo of the Final Solution.

Director: Joe Fab, Elliot Berlin
Producer: Joe Fab, Robert M. Johnson, Ari Daniel Pinchot
Screenwriter: Joe Fab
Distributor: Miramax Films
Production Co: Ergo Entertainment, Johnson Group Production
Rating: G
Genre: Documentary, War
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 2, 2004, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 18, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.1M
Runtime: 1h 22m

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