Voyage avec mon père

This is a better , rawer version on Auschwitz travel.

Daughter drags dad, an actual survivor to seeing the the most remembered place of modern history. The opening is a good sample of what to expect, a daughter who actively researched the actual Nazi scripts on how the Jews are to be treated, and a Dad , a survivor who does not want to be there.

The contrast is extremely well handled through the few days of this journey. In contrast to the much acclaimed RESL PAIN, this story actually ventures into their old home taken away by force, with previous things , hence the title. You can't stop the burst of tears when the Dad hugs and reminisces the tragedy with his father's jacket. And the china, a crisp reminder of how well the community lived before being trashed. The best scene was when the dad calls of a mistake in the guide's narration of where the victims arrived , and finds the actual submerged rail tracks. Really heart-wrenching, if you are well into the story and the backdrop itself I wish this one more celebrated than the relatively shallow depiction in real pain,

Treasure follows Ruth, the daughter of two Polish/Jewish Holocaust survivors, who journeys to Poland in 1991 to see places important to her family's story. Ruth's father, Edek, only accompanies her because he doesn't believe a women should travel alone. The best, most poignant scenes are a visit to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where Edek and his late wife were imprisoned, and a scene where a family treasure is found.

The rest of the movie is tedious, with many father/daughter disputes, including a very awkward argument in front of three people they only met a few days before. The lack of tolerance between Ruth and Edek is painful to watch. Although Ruth wants to find her Polish roots, she seems disdainful of the Polish people and culture, even the food.

The movie is inaccurately billed as a comedy/drama. I didn't expect much comedy, and most attempts at humor fell flat. The few touching moments are overwhelmed by exaggerated father/daughter conflict.

American journalist "Ruth" (Lena Dunham) had long planned a trip from the USA to her ancestral home in Poland only to find her effervescent father "Edek" (Stephen Fry) has decided to join her. A fluent speaker and full of a slightly annoying joie de vivre, they embark on a trip to the tourist sites, but that's not what she wants. She wants to head to the family home in Lodz where they were a successful industrial family before the Nazi's confiscated their wealth, property and sent "Edek" and his wife to Auschwitz. What is clear is that dad is not so keen on this itinerary, nor is he at all keen on train travel - and the remainder of the film takes us on a family journey that will open the eyes of the daughter whilst bringing back the demons for the father. This tries quite effectively at times to introduce some humour into what is quite an emotional topic, especially when their trip does eventually take them (and us) to his haunting place of incarceration where he finds a flood of memories readily come back to him. Fry over-eggs the accent a bit, but he does manage to convey something of the harrowing nature of his incarceration, and of his mind's determination to protect itself from opening that door to trauma again. Dunham also serves well enough as his independently-minded daughter to support that increasingly troubled characterisation. It's quite a poignant drama that encourages us, as D-Day 80 is still fresh in the mind - to imagine the horrors visited on the Polish people by the Nazis and to realise that in many cases (this is set in 1991) their houses and businesses were still pretty much as they were left in 1941 - only largely dilapidated and with new, poverty-stricken occupants. I did rather like the conclusion - it poses quite an interesting question about what we might do in her place. As a drama, it maybe doesn't need the cinema, but the photography at the now silenced death camp is still blood-curdling.

It's really refreshing to me seeing a movie that's just sincere. Nothing stylized or saccharine, just really powerful dialogue and story unfolding naturally while working on so many levels. It feels like this movie exists in the real world. I'm usually skeptical about fiction that incorporates the holocaust because sometimes it's used as an unnecessary gimmick, but every element about this story is vitally important. The conversations about processing generational trauma are breath-taking. The two lead actors, Lena and Stephen, really made me empathize with their characters and they both deserve Oscar nominations. Also, this is based on a true story and I love when movies based on true stories show photos of the real-life people during the credits.

The movie is very moving. It shows the different facets of the victim and repression and the urge to protect the children from it, but also the daughter's point of view, who wants to know and understand what her family had to go through. In addition, the relationship between two adults who have the role of child and father is palpable. Both characters only want the best for each other, even though they appear to be mutual. The story doesn't feel like a movie you're watching. You are emotionally taken along on the journey and can experience some of the poignant moments. Beautiful and sad at the same time, it shows the resilience of a person who has experienced tragedy and can still experience joyful moments at the same places.