Die verlorene Zeit

beautiful, haunting, superbly acted. One of the finest personal stories I've seen about World War II. Excellent cast! I felt that there wasn't black or white, and while it would have been easy to fall into clichés, the story actually left a lot to explore on our own and there was much more grey. I was particularly impressed by the actors, there was so much nuance and emotion and subtlety that at times I felt it was too real to be acted out. I stumbled upon this movie on Netflix and I didn't know what to expect. WWII movies can be too melodramatic and predictable, in my experience. However, this swept me off my feet and I feel that I will be going back to these story over and over again. I am so glad that I have decided to give it a try! Fantastic movie!

Remembrance very quickly alerts the viewer to the horrors of a concentration camp. It's not a death camp, in fact it seems to be a bakery, but the constant insults and shouting of orders, and the way prisoners have learnt to be automatically deferential to their captors, is palatable. It's a bit of an eye-opener and worth a look just for that. The escape is knife-edged, also worth a look. The movie continues to be poignant by reproducing some common dilemmas and attitudes toward known at that time, even when in relative safety. As a war movie it's a great story. The contrast with 1971 New York is given in parallel throughout but is not too intrusive if you're only really interested in the story 1944-45, but I would question the need for it at all. Added to that is the problem of the younger/older versions of the heroine bearing very little physical similarities aside from height and hair colour. And in regard to the 1971 aspect, whilst I know as a baby boomer myself, and having grown up surrounded by war veterans, all of whom tended to be overly serious and dismissive of my generation, that the apparent meanness of the couple later in life shown here is probably a true reflection, quite frankly, as a movie, well, it was hard to watch. That's what is keeping my score here down to a 7. If you liked movies like Sophie's Choice (1982) then you'll probably like this one. Given it's a true story and a very competent piece of film theatre, with good sets/actors/locations/cameras, Remembrance is easy to recommend.

I stumbled across this gem of a film on Netflix, and it had four out of five stars, so I figured I would give it a shot. I am so glad I took the time to watch it. The storyline is nothing short of amazing, and after viewing the movie, I did some research, and found that it is based on a true story. Visually stunning, with a beautiful score to match, Remembrance kept me hypnotized for two hours solid. Considering I am a bit of a critic when it comes to love stories, I was shocked by how powerfully moving this one was. It broke my heart in two. I won't go into details about the plot, because frankly, I think this is one of those works of art that should be experienced and not described. I will just say, watch it for yourself. It is well worth the time.

As of this writing, there are 1894 films on my IMDb list. If I rate them by excellence, this would be in the top three. If I listed only war and Holocaust movies, it would be Number 1 (The Boy In The Striped Pajamas would be number two.) The story is brilliant. The acting is magnificent. The low key photography and the often bleak weather settings fit the story perfectly. And the ending... No spoiler here. Let's just say my wife and I will discuss the ending many times. Powerful, powerful stuff yet understated, its fierce emotions (love, hate, suspicion,anger, fear) often conveyed without words, just superb facial gestures and expressions. It's also quite an accomplishment to make any film --- much less a superb one like this --- in four languages (English, German, Polish, Russian) I saw no listing of awards. It deserves any number of them! Screening this remarkable film more than makes up for all the bad movies --- perhaps 60% of those 1894 entries --- that I've endured over the years. If cinema is indeed an art form, this is a Van Gogh!

On a chaotic summer day among the poor souls in a horrific Polish concentration camp, 1944, young inmate Tomasz (Mateusz Damiecki) is desperate. German jew Hannah (Alice Dywer) is almost certainly meant for death at the hands of the Nazis running the facility. The two have fallen hopelessly in love, and he knows he must get her out and far, far away before it's too late. In an impossibly courageous effort and a scene that will pummel your nerves, he uses a stolen SS officer's uniform, scoops her up from the workhouse wing and quietly leads her right out the front gate. The two disappear into the neighboring Polish woodland in what is one of the only escapes from a nazi concentration camp ever documented. It's a bold, thrilling, stirring way to start the film, whether or not you know of its origins in actual history. That kind of escape from a place so hellish is a collective sigh of relief from both audience and characters, and it's one nail biter of an emotional ring of fire we all are forced to jump through. But we know this isn't the end, the resolute happiness we so wish for these two, because the film has only just started. In the confusion near the end of the war, the two of them are separated, and move forward in life each believing the other to be dead. This is all interspersed with visions of Hannah's life far in the future of 1976, now married, in her 50's and played by the sensational Dagmar Menzel. In a dry cleaner shop one day she happens to see a talk show on European television, where a man recounts his daring rescue and escape from Auschwitz. The details are eerily similar, and Hannah's mind races. Could this be Tomasz? Could he be alive after all these years and most importantly, should she go to him despite the gulf of time that signifies their prolonged separation? The film tugs at your heartstrings in so many different ways and moments, effectively hanging your tear ducts out to dry. No one can say no to a good wartime romance, because the formula is just too workable. Amidst all that confusion, terror and violence it is essential to find some sort of good with which to combat the dark, and what better way than the strongest force of all, love? Dywer and Damiecki are beyond convincing in their roles, so clearly blessed and burdened with that go for broke, die for one another type passion that we all look for and seldom find. American actor David Rasche plays Hannah's husband in New York, clearly torn up by the tumultuous past rearing it's head in their lives, but willing to empathize with the woman he loves and strive to do what's best in this difficult situation. Menzel is conflicted, hurt, hopeful and utterly, convincingly reactive in a role that's just not an easy one to pull off. Director Anna Justice uses majesterial skill to get the flow of story just right from scene to scene. Narratives which skip backwards and forwards in time can often feel jagged and unfounded in cohesion, but this one ebbs and flows from moment to moment without a single beat skipped or turn of plot out of place. I did some research on the true life tale this is based on, and for the most part they have stuck to fact to bring us as story that's almost unbelievable, and deeply emotional. Remembrance is a keeper.