The documentary received generally positive reviews by the press . Metacritic gave '' Prisoner of Paradise '' a score of 70 out of 100 . '' Variety magazine '' called the film " an important and smoothly mounted meditation on moral choices within the entertainment biz . " '' Charlotte Observer '' 's reviewer Lawrence Toppman praised the film , stating that " its uniqueness lies in its juxtaposition of happy faces and unhappy realities , of fleeting expressions of art and culture undone by daily brutality . " The press widely agreed that the documentary exploited a new and unexpected aspect of the Nazi war against the Jews . Owen Gleiberman of '' Entertainment Weekly '' gave the film a B , and added that the film " reveal ed a queasy corner of the Nazi mind that tried to imagine a concentration camp as it fantasized the inmates might have . " According to '' The Hollywood Reporter , '' the distinction between '' Prisoner of Paradise '' and previous films of the same topic is that " it tells a morality tale of a man whose hubris partially led to his downfall and whose willingness to work for his Nazi overseers resulted in one of the most notorious propaganda films of the era . " Along with the good reviews , '' Prisoner of Paradise '' was mildly criticized for its analysis of why Gerron agreed to direct the Nazi propaganda film of the camp . '' The New York Times '' commented that the film " seems to just drift to a close rather than pronounce an end . This can be a result of wrestling with a daunting subject and not being up to its demands . " The film received a nomination for Best Feature Documentary at the 75th Academy Awards . Director Malcolm Clarke won the Directors Guild of Canada Award ; he and Stuart Sender were also nominated for the 2003 Directors Guild of America Award
75th Academy Awards
75th Academy Awards
Prisoner of Paradise