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Friday, November 15, 2019

Never Look Away (2018)

Why is it that every German movie that gets an Academy Award nomination is over three hours?  And always in some way deeply painful to boot?
This one, like many others, deals with the Nazi's, racism, World War II, and what lies within the souls of men.  We could do with some of this soul searching ourselves, but I digress.
This is based on the life of Gerhard Richter, the visionary German painter who grew up during WWII.  In the opening, he is a young boy confronted by a terrible sight holds his hand in front of his eyes. At first, we think he’s doing it to blot out the spectacle of his beloved aunt Elisabeth (Saskia Rosendahl) being bundled into an ambulance in Nazi Germany, ultimately to her death. But the truth is more complex. As young Kurt (Cai Cohrs) holds his palm a few inches in front of his face, we see what he sees – the hand coming into close focus, rendering what’s behind it slightly blurry. When his hand drops down, the awful truth beyond remains momentarily fuzzy – creating the impression of seeing at one remove. The movie chronicles his path to becoming a renowned painter, as well as his complicated relationship with his father-in-law.  Long as all get out, but well worth seeing.

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