Meet ‘The Optimist’

“The Optimist” is a film very loosely based on the life of Herbert Curt Heller, a Holocaust survivor who late in life opened up and spoke publicly about his experiences during the war. It tugs at the heartstrings, especially with Stephen Lang’s warming embrace of a performance as Heller.

Mr. Heller was 12 when his relatively prosperous Czech family was deported, first to Terezin, then to Auschwitz. A clever youngster, he used his wits to survive; during the death march, he managed to escape.

Mr. Heller emigrated to the United States, raised three daughters with his wife, Annette, and built a successful small business in San Raphael, Calif. He became a respected pillar of the community.

No one — not even members of his family — knew his harrowing history.

At the start of the film, Mr. Heller’s doctor tells him that it’s time to get his affairs in order. Then he’s introduced to Abby (Elsie Fisher), a troubled teenager. Presumably prompted by his impending death, he opens up to her about his own troubled past, which helps the girl at least start to heal. And once that floodgate opened, he goes on to speak to groups about his ordeal.

It does not seem as though Mr. Heller ever received that drastic diagnosis, and how he survived for so long is never explained. Abby, too, is a work of fiction. The producer has said the character was created in the hope that she might attract a younger audience than normally attends Holocaust films.

Fortunately, despite these distractions, the film largely works. The cast is excellent. Fisher and Luke David Blum, who plays young Herbert in the flashbacks, are exceptional.

For Mr. Lang, this was an opportunity to play against type. Like James Brown, Mr. Lang is one of the hardest-working men in show business. He’s appeared in close to 100 movies, in about the same number of TV shows, and on the Broadway stage. But he is likely best known for his role as the evil Col. Miles Quaritch in James Cameron’s “Avatar” films. That is in part why he was so pleasantly surprised to be offered the role of Heller.

Zooming from his home in Santa Monica, Mr. Lang, 73, said, “On a personal level, I was very delighted, because it’s not the sort of role for which I would necessarily be thought of. An agent said I was the only actor to play this character — which kind of blew my mind — and gave me great affection for that agent who was able to see beyond some of the villainous stuff that I do.

“When I read the script, I thought this is, quote, ‘a beautiful film.’ It’s a very difficult topic, but it plays out in a very humane, kind, and almost gentle way.”

Mr. Lang says he didn’t model his performance on anyone, though “I did research on Herbert Heller. I heard his voice. I was not trying to imitate hm in any way, but I really wanted to find that spirit he had, that spirit that had gone through the ordeal — that dire, dire ordeal he went through — and emerged in such an interesting and positive way.”

He didn’t speak to any Holocaust survivors before filming. “I know about the Holocaust. I’ve gone to Holocaust central, which is to say I’ve been to several camps and spent time in Nuremberg, which was probably the epicenter of National Socialism.”

Mr. Lang also plays Samuel on the Amazon Prime series “House of David,” so I asked if there was anything different in his approach when a character is Jewish.

“That’s a very interesting question, because I take it you know I come from a New York mixed background,” Mr. Lang said. “My mother was Irish Catholic from Greenpoint and my father’s a Reform Jew. I think my paternal grandfather was basically agnostic, if anything.

“But culturally, Judaism was very important to the family. I don’t think I look particularly Jewish. I look more like my mother, so in answer to your particular question, I do take particular pride when I do get asked to play a Jewish character.

“I’ve done it a number of times over the years, and I want to get it right. But saying that could be a backhanded way to say I don’t pay as much attention to other characters, which is nonsense. I’m committed to whatever character I play. All I can say, if I am playing a Jew, I’m aware of it and pleased to be doing so.”

Mr. Lang said he doesn’t know if his parents ever discussed it, “but there was never a question that my two siblings and I were going to be a bar mitzvah. And, of course, there’s that old saw that the only difference between Catholics and Jews is that Jews are born guilty. Catholics have to go to school to learn it.”

Finally, I asked if Col. Quaritch is Jewish. Turns out he isn’t. “He’s a Marine,” Mr. Lang said. “That’s his religion. But Quaritch would have great respect for the Maccabees, and he would have great respect for those up in Masada. And he would understand their mindset.”

“The Optimist” opens in New Jersey and New York on March 11.