The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life - 9 stars out of 10

The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life - 9 stars out of 10

“The Lady in Number 6” is simply an amazing story.  Even if it was just the story of a 109-year-old woman who still played the piano to satisfy her love of music, it would be pretty awesome.  But when you add in the fact that she is the oldest living Holocaust survivor and that music is the thing that saved her, it becomes a must-see.  Alice Herz-Sommer’s story begins the same as many musicians.  She was recognized for her talent at a young age, she studied with an elite piano teacher, and she began a performance career as a concert pianist.  Her story is different because she was spared from immediate concentration camp death due to her musical abilities.  Her story differs from many Holocaust survivors, experiencing the side of the concentration camp where Nazis force talented Jews to perform in propaganda films to show that they were being treated well by the Germans.  Her survival relied on her music and this 40-minute telling of her story is one that everybody should see.  She did at the age of 110, one week before this film won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject Documentary.  What an amazing tribute to such an incredible woman and her beautiful story of survival through music.