Remembrance

Remembrance very quickly alerts the viewer to the horrors of a concentration camp. It's not a death camp, in fact it seems to be a bakery, but the constant insults and shouting of orders, and the way prisoners have learnt to be automatically deferential to their captors, is palatable. It's a bit of an eye-opener and worth a look just for that. The escape is knife-edged, also worth a look. The movie continues to be poignant by reproducing some common dilemmas and attitudes toward known at that time, even when in relative safety. As a war movie it's a great story. The contrast with 1971 New York is given in parallel throughout but is not too intrusive if you're only really interested in the story 1944-45, but I would question the need for it at all. Added to that is the problem of the younger/older versions of the heroine bearing very little physical similarities aside from height and hair colour. And in regard to the 1971 aspect, whilst I know as a baby boomer myself, and having grown up surrounded by war veterans, all of whom tended to be overly serious and dismissive of my generation, that the apparent meanness of the couple later in life shown here is probably a true reflection, quite frankly, as a movie, well, it was hard to watch. That's what is keeping my score here down to a 7. If you liked movies like Sophie's Choice (1982) then you'll probably like this one. Given it's a true story and a very competent piece of film theatre, with good sets/actors/locations/cameras, Remembrance is easy to recommend.