Really outstanding, gripping movie - excellent in every way. I rarely give 10s or 1s, but this is definitely a 10.
The movie opens with an Auschwitz Survivor's Association meeting, a sort of "class reunion" type gathering where people are joking and reminiscing, etc. Quickly, the tone changes when wounds are opened and one woman returns to the scene of the crime, to relive it in her mind. She unexpectedly meets a young German man who is photographing the place, making an archaological record of it. He meets her and wants to join her trip down memory lane. It gets more and more interesting, with a great deal of psychological complexity throughout.
The only thing I would change is the ending. I won't say what happens, but she needed to remember the letter. It would have been better punctuated, as a story. Beautiful cinematography, writing, acting, the whole bit. Outstanding!
The movie opens with an Auschwitz Survivor's Association meeting, a sort of "class reunion" type gathering where people are joking and reminiscing, etc. Quickly, the tone changes when wounds are opened and one woman returns to the scene of the crime, to relive it in her mind. She unexpectedly meets a young German man who is photographing the place, making an archaological record of it. He meets her and wants to join her trip down memory lane. It gets more and more interesting, with a great deal of psychological complexity throughout.
The only thing I would change is the ending. I won't say what happens, but she needed to remember the letter. It would have been better punctuated, as a story. Beautiful cinematography, writing, acting, the whole bit. Outstanding!