Enkel der Geschichte
Laura Laabs
Germany | 2012 | 20 min
World premiere
Language : German
Subtitle : English
How does one use film to draw a portrait? How does one convey the life of an individual and the bigger picture? A young woman tries to question her Jewish grandmother, who has lived through Nazism and the War. At the same time, the apprentice director has to contend with a strong-willed character, who has no intention of being “directed”. In an old house crammed with things that bear witness to the past, the old lady proves evasive, like the tragic and distant 20th century her granddaughter would like to grasp. To fill the gaps, the film has to provide its own answers, through brilliant staging and editing, plenty of humour and the subtle art of suggestion. Under the reluctance and things left unsaid, we detect a story of suffering, repression, but also of emancipation. A wry and profound film on the desire to know, the legacy of memory and the difficulty of communication across the generations: the willingness to enter into dialogue is not alone enough to disclose the secrets of history.
Alessia Bottani.
Translation BMP Translations