Duas Vidas

A tight, clever and well done drama based on similar true events, as much a a psychological thriller which is not difficult to recommend. Straight away I got the same feeling as when I saw the German Oscar winning film Das leben der Anderen (The life of others) back in 2006. And this Norwegian/German story has similar elements in some ways, though not to be exaggerated, with consequences going back to when the Berlin wall fell, in this great casted movie which has managed to make Liv Ullmann making a comeback.

In a thriller-like manner we follow a woman in 1990 hiding her identity before going into a children's home archives in Germany in search of a secret. Then we jump to Norway, two weeks earlier to find out why this search has started, then understanding the woman is a German with a family living in Norway. We watch her being confronted with old memories, when a lawyer with German accent approaches her at work, wanting her to participate in a lawsuit regarding the so called Lebensborn-kids deported to Germany due to them having a German father during the second world war. The trouble is that she has a secret history in her life, which now is threatening to surface...

Lebensborn is a dark page in the past war history. During the second world war many German soldiers had relationships to Norwegian women. The women was called German-whores due to the hard feeling between the two countries in war. Due to Nazi ideology the children of these relationships was seen upon as extremely valuable, as pure aryan raced kids. Lebensborn was forced adoptions of these small "children of shame" during and after the occupation, bringing them to Germany as orphans, losing their parents. This story is based in these tragic destinies.

The film keeps interest way through, and is well acted and directed. A strong story making lives difficult several decades later.

I expected a 'small' film, very Scandinavian and moody about not much of anything. Instead, one of the most intriguing and suspenseful espionage stories ever AND based on a true case! Beautifully scripted, crisply directed and Liv Ullmann deftly underplaying her role steals every scene she is in! The spycraft is top-rate and believable and the human elements, above all, make this endlessly fascinating. I am not easy to please when it comes to Cold War thrillers.

The central character is endlessly fascinating to think about. The way she lives a lie and yet really and truly loves and has a family. Seldom does a movie keep me thinking long afterwards as this did.

You can read summaries of this movie's plot line elsewhere. This movie is all about Juliane Kohler's heart-searing portrayal of a woman coming to terms with her past. For me, five stars on Netflix, ten stars on IMDb.

Some have written that the plot is implausible. It is not. It is fascinating. I had never before heard of Juliane Kohler until coming across this movie on Netflix, but I now expect to see everything I can find with her. She is absolutely riveting. Her astonishingly expressive face is the centerpoint of every scene. In fact, at nearly fifty years of age, she is more beautiful than photos I have seen of her in movies ten and twenty years earlier.

Too, Liv Ullman is wonderful as her mother. I haven't see Ms. Ullman since her films with Ingmar Bergman in the late 50's and 60's, followed by the wonderful "The Emigrants". She has been too long away from the camera.The rest of the cast is also excellent. But Ms. Kohler: oh my, oh my, oh my.

Sadly the plot falls apart. The more you understand what has happened, the less plausible it is.

The seaside, buildings, mountains, etc. make for gorgeous background.

The characters are portrayed with depth and sympathy. Each deals appropriately with the stresses that they are under, and you can understand their actions.

The plot moves a long at a good pace, with flashbacks becoming clearer as the movie progresses.

But sadly when all is revealed, the plot has more holes than Romeo and Juliet. Coincidences, unlucky timing, unrealistic actions by professionals, ... it has them all.

The story has 2 elements that I find intriguing: East Germany spy network, and the post 1945 healing of Europe. In this movie they deal with both topics (plus the human impact in one family), but I believe that it would be better if the film focused on one topic only. First of all, why was DDR interested in Norway? What kind of intelligence were they seeking? And what happened with all the Stasi operatives after reunification?

I felt like the movie did not delved deep into those topics