Charm, smarts and post-Holocaust Jewish knavery in Sam Garbarski's BYE BYE GERMANY

In the annals of Holocaust-themed movies that go places most of their brethren would not care or dare to, BYE BYE GERMANY takes its position as one of the more daring, even if it is, after all, just a pleasant, near-mainstream rom-com-drama. Yet the subjects with which it deals -- what it took to survive the camps, post-Holocaust-Germany wheeling and dealing by Jews on the black market, as well as the question of exactly what some of those Jews did during their imprisonment ("Was he a Kapo?" one of them asks of another) -- helps make the movie a worthwhile addition to the sub-genre of post-Holocaust films.

As directed and co-written (with Swiss screenwriter, Michel Bergman, based on his novels) by Sam Garbarski (shown at left), who, a decade back, gave us the very interesting Irina Palm, the film is from its very start surprisingly sweet and sentimental, giving us a three-legged dog with whom our hero, Bermann (the wonderful and versatile Moritz Bleibtreu), has clearly bonded. We immediately bond, too. Herr Bleibtreu, below, excels at playing crooks with hearts of gold, and he it it again here -- this time with the added enjoyment of keeping us guessing as to what his real history--pre-, during and post-camp--has been.

Also kept guessing as to that history is a military investigator named Sara Simon, played well by the beauteous East German-born actress Antje Traue (below, right, with Bleibtreu ),who is determined to get to the truth of things. Truth, of course, can be difficult to pin down (if not completely non-existent, as in these days of Donald Trump).

So, as Simon investigates and Bermann prevaricates, truth (or something like it) spills out in bits and pieces. Bermann's gang of small-time and very charming shysters, who join their boss in a thriving linen business, are brought to lovely life by a group of fine supporting actors -- each one quite different from the next: by turns funny, sad, silly and surprising.

Jokes play quite a nice part in the film, too, as does a musical instrument called the Theremin. All in all, Bye Bye Germany is lots of fun, with that fun anchored securely to history, humanity and character.

From Film Movement and running 102 minutes, the movie has already opened in theaters around the country, but still seems to have a few playdates remaining. Click here and then scroll down to find a city and/or theater near you. Locally in South Florida the film will open this Friday, May 11, at the Movies of Delray, and then the following Friday, May 18, at the Movies of Lake Worth. Eventually DVD and streaming options will also be available.

1945: Ferenc Török's elegant, bleak view of post-WWII Hungary opens in South Florida

We've seen a lot of Holocaust horror, along with post-Holocaust family films and secrets-and-lies investigations about coming to terms with it all. What we've explored least of, perhaps, is tales of Jewish homes and property taken over by non-Jews after the various round-ups and deportations that took place in Nazi-conquered countries throughout Europe. (We got just a taste of this in Sarah's Key and certain other films.) This loss of property, though certainly not as important as the lives lost, is at the heart of the new Hungarian film 1945.

As co-written (with Gábor T. Szántó) and directed by Ferenc Török, shown at right, 1945 takes place in that particular year, after World War II had ended and, for the first time since the deportation,  Jews -- just two of them, actually: an old man and a young one (shown below) -- arrive by train to this sleepy little Hungarian town. Why have they come, and what do they want?

From the outset, it is clear that, however quietly and subtly the townspeople take this all in, they are, to a man and woman, hugely disturbed by the Jews' appearance. Yet it is also clear that they've been aware that, someday down  the road, this would most likely happen.

As the movie progresses, and the two Jews make their way slowly toward the town, the townspeople -- from the powerful town clerk (Péter Rudolf, below, left) down to the town drunk and some lowly housewives -- fret and finger-point, give in to guilt, hide their ill-gotten valuables and/or try to decide their best course of action.

Russia is already controlling Hungary, though the iron hand of its insane Communist dictator has not yet made its power fully felt, yet it is clear that the citizens are already taking sides. And today happens also to mark the wedding of the town clerk's son (Bence Tasnádi, above, right) to a pretty local girl (Dóra Sztarenki, below, right), of whom the groom's mom (Eszter Nagy-Kálózy, below, left) heartily disapproves -- for reasons that will soon (and then later, too) become clear.

The journey toward town of the Jews, together with all the tsuris this causes the townspeople and even their priest, brings out the rather shocking inhumanity of man toward his fellow men, while setting the stage for a showdown of sorts.

And yet, throughout, 1945 is resolutely un-melodramatic. as it unfolds slowly and gracefully, if consistently fraught with fear and anguish. The elegant cinematography (by Elemér Ragályi) is often stunningly beautiful, with its final image as Holocaust-redolent as you could wish. I admit that the film moves slowly at times, and it sometimes scores its points a bit too obviously, as well.

Overall, though, 1945 proves a strong enough indictment of Hungary (and also of nearly all the Nazi-conquered countries) in its treatment of the Jews to warrant a viewing and the accompanying discussion that will surely arise.

From Menemsha Films and running 91 minutes, the movie opens here in South Florida on February 16 -- in Miami at the AMC Aventura 24, in Fort Lauderdale at The Classic Gateway Theatre, in Tamarac at The Last Picture Show, in Boca Raton at the Living Room Theaters and the Regal Shadowood, and at the Movies of Delray and Movies of Lake Worth.

Personal appearance!  

Moviegoers can meet the director of 1945, Ferenc Török, on

Friday, Feb. 16, at Movies of Delray at 12:30pm, 3:00pm, 5:20pm; 

and at The Classic Gateway Theater, 7:20pm and 9:30pm. 

On Saturday, February 17, he will appear at the Movies of Delray 

at 12:30pm, 3:00pm, and 5:20pm, at the Regal Shadowood at 4:50pm 

and at Tamarac's The Last Picture Show at  7:10pm. 

On Sunday, February 18, look for him at the AMC Aventura 24 at 1:45pm 

and at the Living Room Theaters in Boca Raton at 4:30pm and 6:50pm. 

For more information readers can visit www.menemshafilms.com/1945  

1945: Ferenc Török's elegant, bleak view of post-WWII Hungary opens in So. Florida

We've seen a lot of Holocaust horror, along with post-Holocaust family films and secrets-and-lies investigations about coming to terms with it all. What we've explored least of, perhaps, is tales of Jewish homes and property taken over by non-Jews after the various round-ups and deportations that took place in Nazi-conquered countries throughout Europe. (We got just a taste of this in Sarah's Key and certain other films.) This loss of property, though certainly not as important as the lives lost, is at the heart of the new Hungarian film 1945.

As co-written (with Gábor T. Szántó) and directed by Ferenc Török, shown at right, 1945 takes place in that particular year, after World War II had ended and, for the first time since the deportation,  Jews -- just two of them, actually: an old man and a young one (shown below) -- arrive by train to this sleepy little Hungarian town. Why have they come, and what do they want?

From the outset, it is clear that, however quietly and subtly the townspeople take this all in, they are, to a man and woman, hugely disturbed by the Jews' appearance. Yet it is also clear that they've been aware that, someday down  the road, this would most likely happen.

As the movie progresses, and the two Jews make their way slowly toward the town, the townspeople -- from the powerful town clerk (Péter Rudolf, below, left) down to the town drunk and some lowly housewives -- fret and finger-point, give in to guilt, hide their ill-gotten valuables and/or try to decide their best course of action.

Russia is already controlling Hungary, though the iron hand of its insane Communist dictator has not yet made its power fully felt, yet it is clear that the citizens are already taking sides. And today happens also to mark the wedding of the town clerk's son (Bence Tasnádi, above, right) to a pretty local girl (Dóra Sztarenki, below, right), of whom the groom's mom (Eszter Nagy-Kálózy, below, left) heartily disapproves -- for reasons that will soon (and then later, too) become clear.

The journey toward town of the Jews, together with all the tsuris this causes the townspeople and even their priest, brings out the rather shocking inhumanity of man toward his fellow men, while setting the stage for a showdown of sorts.

And yet, throughout, 1945 is resolutely un-melodramatic. as it unfolds slowly and gracefully, if consistently fraught with fear and anguish. The elegant cinematography (by Elemér Ragályi) is often stunningly beautiful, with its final image as Holocaust-redolent as you could wish. I admit that the film moves slowly at times, and it sometimes scores its points a bit too obviously, as well.

Overall, though, 1945 proves a strong enough indictment of Hungary (and also of nearly all the Nazi-conquered countries) in its treatment of the Jews to warrant a viewing and the accompanying discussion that will surely arise.

From Menemsha Films and running 91 minutes, the movie opens here in South Florida on February 16 -- in Miami at the AMC Aventura 24, in Fort Lauderdale at The Classic Gateway Theatre, in Tamarac at The Last Picture Show, in Boca Raton at the Living Room Theaters and the Regal Shadowood, and at the Movies of Delray and Movies of Lake Worth.

Personal appearance!  

Moviegoers can meet the director of 1945, Ferenc Török, on

Friday, Feb. 16, at Movies of Delray at 12:30pm, 3:00pm, 5:20pm; 

and at The Classic Gateway Theater, 7:20pm and 9:30pm. 

On Saturday, February 17, he will appear at the Movies of Delray 

at 12:30pm, 3:00pm, and 5:20pm, at the Regal Shadowood at 4:50pm 

and at Tamarac's The Last Picture Show at  7:10pm. 

On Sunday, February 18, look for him at the AMC Aventura 24 at 1:45pm 

and at the Living Room Theaters in Boca Raton at 4:30pm and 6:50pm. 

For more information readers can visit www.menemshafilms.com/1945  

Brothers filming brothers: In AIDA'S SECRETS, Alon & Shaul Schwarz offer up a riveting and unusual post-Holocaust documentary

Yes, the Holocaust, as unfathomable and horrendous as it was, continues to unveil some of the more amazing tales the world has yet seen. Eventually some of these reach the screen in the form of either documentary or narrative movies, and this week one more of these, and certainly one of the strangest (as well as one that seems to be continually unfurling) opens here in South Florida (and elsewhere).

AIDA'S SECRETS, a fine and nourishing documentary by brothers Alon and Shaul Schwarz, takes us to Israel, Canada and back again, as a family -- most members of whom have no idea that they even are a family -- reunites. Of course the film packs an emotional wallop at times, but even more exceptional is how much food for thought it consistently provides.

The filmmakers, shown above with Alon Schwarz on the left, bring us here a story so filled with surprise (and, yes, secrets) that you'll have to listen and watch pretty intently to make certain you take in all the details on offer. And there are plenty. To go much into those details here would spoil a good deal of the surprise that the documentary engenders.

So let's just say that the other member of this odd family, mother Aida (shown below, in her younger days, and further below in present-day), has enough secrets -- along with good reasons for keeping them so -- to easily fill out the film's 90-minute running time. Of particular interest is the fact that the two filmmaking brothers have actually found two older brothers -- Izak Sagi and Shep Shell, shown left and right, respectively, above) to become to subjects of their film. Each pair does the other more than justice.

Their story is so full of oddity and emotion, surprise and eventual understanding, that watching and listening as the documentary unfurls is both thought-provoking and revelatory. The various subjects this documentary explores -- by its very existence -- include identity, parenting, the importance of geography (locations range from Poland and Germany to Israel and Canada), what it means to be Jewish, and how important knowing one's history/genetic strain is (or maybe, as we learn while the end credits roll, is not).

The movie makes no judgments but simply lays out the timeline and series of events that take us from there to here, often with our mouth hanging open in wonderment of the decisions that were made and, finally, the reasons for making them.

Aida's Secrets is as much a mystery film as anything else, and that mystery encompasses not merely the facts of the matter at hand but also the secrets of the workings of the human mind and conscience. And, perhaps, what a parent might do to ensure the well-being of her offspring.

The documentary -- from Music Box Films, running 90 minutes and in mostly the English language, with a few English subtitles when Hebrew is heard on the soundtrack -- opens this Friday, October 27, here in South Florida in Miami Beach at the O Cinema, at Delray Beach at The Movies of Delray, in Boca Raton at the Living Room Theater and the Regal Shadowood, and in Lake Worth and The Movies of Lake Worth; and in Los Angeles at Laemmle's Playhouse 7, Royal and Town Center theaters. To see all currently scheduled playdates, cities and theaters, click here and then click on THEATERS and scroll down.

The photo of the filmmakers, 

second from top, is by Sonia Recchia 

and comes courtesy of Getty Images.

Christian Petzold's PHOENIX explores post-Holocaust love, identity, guilt and avarice

That old standard, "Speak Low," gets quite the workout in PHOENIX, a new film from German movie-maker Christian Petzold, who seems, with each addition to his oeuvre, to be journey-ing further and further back in time and history. His Yella and Jerichow were relatively modern-day tales; Barbara took us back to East Germany in the 1980s; now his new one reaches all the way to immediately post-Holocaust, as the few Jews left were returning to their former homes throughout Europe -- or heading for Palestine.

As is the case in all of Petzold's work I've seen -- the co-writer (with Harun Farocki) and director is shown at left -- the plot relies on a very interesting, and usually only partially believable twist, played for all it is worth. And with this filmmaker, that means it's worth at least a watch. Phoenix, in my estimation, proves his most fully satisfying work to date because it takes the several themes at hand -- the Holocaust, self-identity (with emphasis on those of both Judaism and feminism), physical appearance, loyalty and love -- and blends them into a surprisingly effective whole.

If Herr Petzold could be said to have a muse, it would be his lead actress in several films: Nina Hoss (above, right, below, left and poster, top), who is as fine here as she always is, maybe even better. Ms Hoss has the ability to convince us that reams of subtext, as well as an enormous and roiling past exists within her slight frame and beautiful, expressive face -- all of which is true in the case of her character, Nelly.

Nelly has just returned from a concentration camp, where she was left for dead from a gunshot wound to the skull. In addition to being resuscitated, she has also undergone a major face lift, hoping to get something like her original face but coming up with a visage that is similar but also different enough to be a tad confusing.

Her friend Lene (Nina Kunzendorf, above) is making arrangements for the two of them to leave for Palestine, but Nelly is not ready for that. She wants to find her husband, Johnny (Ronald Zehrfeld, below), a pianist who used to accompany her on the piano when she sang professionally.  Clearly still head-over-heels about the man, Nelly can't abide the idea, planted rather firmly by Lene, that her husband ratted her out as a Jew to the Gestapo so he could play the get-out-of-jail-free card.

The set-up is clear and the movie proceeds from that set-up, full speed ahead but with enough ambiguity and mixed signals to keep us -- and its characters -- on our toes. Nelly's identity is locked into her love for Johnny more strongly than anything that happened to her in the camp as a Jew (this fact riles Lene not a little).

And though Johnny appears pretty much as Lene paints him, so obsessive and enormous is Nelly's love for the guy that she has us wondering if, maybe hoping that, she could be right. The movie rises slowly to some excellent suspense, some striking visuals, and to a finale that is absolutely on the mark -- emotionally, psychologically and dramatically sound.

Performances are fine from all involved, and one of the pleasures of the movie is that, while providing suspense and entertainment, it never slights the importance of the Holocaust to history (and German history), and in fact offers up a few choice ideas about human behavior and our ability to all too easily forget and even forgive.

Phoenix, from Sundance Selects -- the title refers to a club in which cabaret and other post-war amenities (above) are offered and at which our Johnny has a job, as well as to that famed Firebird rising from the ashes -- opens this Friday, Just 24, in New York City at the IFC Center and the Lincoln Plaza Cinema. In the Los Angeles area, look for it at various Laemmle theaters beginning July 31.