IFFR 2013 Review: LORE Finds The Awful Truth In Pretty Pictures
It's 1945. Hitler's dead. Hannalore (Rosendahl) and her four young siblings are left to fend for themselves after their Nazi parents are imprisoned. Having been informed that there is a relative living in Hamburg, the children set out on foot from their opulent mansion deep in the Barbarian mountains to an unknown, scary world. Things get hairy quickly as they run out of food (and milk for the baby) and shelter.
They team up with a suspicious young man, Thomas (Kai Malina), who crosses their path. Lore's younger siblings take a shine on him but she can't let her
guard down. Germany is divided into zones with road blocks everywhere.
Thomas, who may or may not be a death camp survivor, uses his street smarts to help Lore and her siblings to get to the British
zone (because Soviets hate Germans, they were told). There is an obvious sexual tension between Lore and Thomas.
Rosendahl's typical Aryan beauty is accentuated by blissful cinematography, used effectively here as she gets battered, dirtied up and sun-blistered. There is a certain Grimm's fairytale quality to Lore's journey, with many grown up monsters in the woods waiting to pounce on a frightened little girl. The film makes a point of the war robbing one's childhood, that there are victims on both sides, several times. But thanks to beautifully balanced direction and great performances, the cliché-prone material never comes across as a didactic bore.
Lore opens February 8 in New York and Los Angeles and gets wide releases in March. Check the Music Box Films website for more information.
Dustin Chang is a freelance writer, his musing and opinions on the world can be found at www.dustinchang.com
Rosendahl's typical Aryan beauty is accentuated by blissful cinematography, used effectively here as she gets battered, dirtied up and sun-blistered. There is a certain Grimm's fairytale quality to Lore's journey, with many grown up monsters in the woods waiting to pounce on a frightened little girl. The film makes a point of the war robbing one's childhood, that there are victims on both sides, several times. But thanks to beautifully balanced direction and great performances, the cliché-prone material never comes across as a didactic bore.
Lore opens February 8 in New York and Los Angeles and gets wide releases in March. Check the Music Box Films website for more information.
Dustin Chang is a freelance writer, his musing and opinions on the world can be found at www.dustinchang.com
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