I've just finished watching 'Lore', and found it to be a deeply moving story, beautifully shot on film (which is becoming a rarity), with a breathtaking performance by the lead, Saskia Rosendahl.
I wasn't planning on coming on here to write a review, but after reading other people's views and comments, I was quite stunned to see one reviewer giving it only one star out of ten, claiming it to be 'Holocaust Denial: Trash!'. Having read this reviewers comments, it seemed to me that the reviewer had missed a crucial element in the film, and her reaction seems to concentrate on a revelation from the final third of the film which, if the earlier reveal isn't taken into account, could have caused her reaction.
The following comments contain a good few spoilers, so please don't read on if you have not already seen the film.
In the aforementioned reviewer's comments, she mentioned the scene where it is revealed that the papers carried by the character Thomas were not his own, but those of a Jewish man named Thomas Weil. It is mentioned by one of the children that Thomas had told him that was not Jewish, but carried the papers because "Americans like Jews". If basing the theme of the film on this scene alone, I can almost see why this reviewer came to her conclusions, as she appears to have assumed that Thomas was NOT Jewish all along.
However, earlier in the film, we see Thomas notice Lore looking at the numbers tattooed on his wrist, which he then covers with his sleeve. Thomas is a survivor in every way. He has survived the camps, and has adapted to continue his survival. Although it is never explicitly explained, using another persons papers may have been easier than not having any papers at all, and the revelation to the younger children may have been because Thomas knew the young boy would not follow him to safety if he had thought Thomas was Jewish.
For Lore, it is evident from the moment she sees the tattoo that she knows Thomas is Jewish. Even after the revelation that the documents are not his, she still knows. This explains her actions in the final few scenes, a reaction against her earlier beliefs and strict upbringing. This is what makes it all the more powerful.
The reviewer also references one other scene, of other passengers on a train discussing the photographs of holocaust victims, and one of these passengers claiming that they are faked circulated by the Americans. Is the inclusion of this scene intended as 'Holocaust Denial'? I think not. When Lore overhears this discussion, she is already fully aware that the photographs are real, and we know this because earlier in the film we see her tearing away a piece of a photo, which is later revealed to contain the image of her father in full uniform, witnessing the atrocities. At this point, she is unable to deny either the events or her fathers involvement.
The reviewer I have mentioned stated that she was hoping for a classic example of the 'Bildungsroman', or coming-of-age story, and personally I feel this is exactly what director Cate Shortland has given us. A tale of a young girl who has to come to terms with the end of adolescence, the end of a brutal war, and the gradual realisation that all she has been led to believe may not be true.
I wasn't planning on coming on here to write a review, but after reading other people's views and comments, I was quite stunned to see one reviewer giving it only one star out of ten, claiming it to be 'Holocaust Denial: Trash!'. Having read this reviewers comments, it seemed to me that the reviewer had missed a crucial element in the film, and her reaction seems to concentrate on a revelation from the final third of the film which, if the earlier reveal isn't taken into account, could have caused her reaction.
The following comments contain a good few spoilers, so please don't read on if you have not already seen the film.
In the aforementioned reviewer's comments, she mentioned the scene where it is revealed that the papers carried by the character Thomas were not his own, but those of a Jewish man named Thomas Weil. It is mentioned by one of the children that Thomas had told him that was not Jewish, but carried the papers because "Americans like Jews". If basing the theme of the film on this scene alone, I can almost see why this reviewer came to her conclusions, as she appears to have assumed that Thomas was NOT Jewish all along.
However, earlier in the film, we see Thomas notice Lore looking at the numbers tattooed on his wrist, which he then covers with his sleeve. Thomas is a survivor in every way. He has survived the camps, and has adapted to continue his survival. Although it is never explicitly explained, using another persons papers may have been easier than not having any papers at all, and the revelation to the younger children may have been because Thomas knew the young boy would not follow him to safety if he had thought Thomas was Jewish.
For Lore, it is evident from the moment she sees the tattoo that she knows Thomas is Jewish. Even after the revelation that the documents are not his, she still knows. This explains her actions in the final few scenes, a reaction against her earlier beliefs and strict upbringing. This is what makes it all the more powerful.
The reviewer also references one other scene, of other passengers on a train discussing the photographs of holocaust victims, and one of these passengers claiming that they are faked circulated by the Americans. Is the inclusion of this scene intended as 'Holocaust Denial'? I think not. When Lore overhears this discussion, she is already fully aware that the photographs are real, and we know this because earlier in the film we see her tearing away a piece of a photo, which is later revealed to contain the image of her father in full uniform, witnessing the atrocities. At this point, she is unable to deny either the events or her fathers involvement.
The reviewer I have mentioned stated that she was hoping for a classic example of the 'Bildungsroman', or coming-of-age story, and personally I feel this is exactly what director Cate Shortland has given us. A tale of a young girl who has to come to terms with the end of adolescence, the end of a brutal war, and the gradual realisation that all she has been led to believe may not be true.