As many wars and conflicts around the world are taking place, director Wim Wenders made a small trip to a school in France where an important event
in 1945 sealed the end of World War II (the European front). 80 years ago, on May 7, 1945, a school in Reims was used as the Allied Forces Headquarters led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower during the recapture of France, and there, German Colonel General Alfred Jodl signed the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany, inside the map
room. Another symbolic event was the presentation of the Keys to Freedom to the town's mayor - the keys are part of the musuem exhibition where the school
used to be.
Combining archive footage from the events and some small moments with extras recreating the 1940's setting, Wenders travels back and forth in time
inside the school/museum reflecting on a long distant period in history with the closing of a tragic moment that shook the world and changed the course of
history ever since. The war to end all wars was only in name as the world has seen countless conflicts over the decades, millions of lives lost directly and
indirectly, and freedom was always at stake no matter the cause being fought. He reminds us of a time when peace was made possible when most people didn't think
it was possible after the many years of deaths on battlefields and concentration camps. There was an end to it, and mankind was relieved.
Born a few days after the end of WWII, Wim Wenders never made anything related with wars - the closest he ever got was through legendary photographer
Sebastião Salgado's photo coverage of many civil wars in Africa in the amazing documentary "The Salt of the Earth". His cinema was more concerned in following
human relations, human connections and people going through spiritual or soul-searching paths, surviving the wars within themselves in order to find solace
and peace. He does the same in "The Keys to Freedom" as he observes the agreement of two different forces finding a common ground and putting an end to all
of what's wrong before. In chaotic times, a short documentary like this makes us believe in the possibilities of a better world. It can happen again, as long
as we don't forget what had happened before, throughout history. 8/10.
