After a woman’s husband dies in New York and she imposes the Jewish mourning ceremony onto her family, her daughter tracks down a 90-year-old woman who knew her mother in World War 2 Berlin so that she can find out more about her mother’s past and the events that led up to her parent’s marriage.
This film is quite sad, as is the custom with most war films, but in a way that reflects hope. Underneath the images of oppression, violence and fascism there is a political message suggesting that human nature will always find a way to express kindness, even during its darkest moments. (Or something equally as cheesy as that.)
The style of the film was interesting and thought provoking but it doesn’t hold the same entertainment values as other war films promoting similar messages like Schindler’s List (1993). That can either be a good thing or a bad thing; it basically just means that the film has a very select audience, specifically people interested in film or history.
There are some entertaining factors in the film such as the framing device (using the daughter hearing the story being retold) which breaks up the story and gives us background information that might not be obvious on screen.
The film is very long, slow-paced and the events depicted are not cheerful, so if you are easily upset, distressed or just plain aren’t interested in Nazis (as if such a person exists) then you should probably avoid this film.
2/10 –It’s not THE worst, that something else. But...-
-The film takes place in a town called Rosenstrasse which is where the Jewish husbands of Aryan women were taken and held during World War 2. Of course all the events throughout the film are based on real history.
