Director Report Card: Cate Shortland (2012)

3. Lore

If I had to guess, it would seem to me that Cate Shortland had already developed a respectable, critical following in her home country. “Somersault” was obviously very well received in Australia. However, the director hadn't quite made an impression on the global scene just yet. That would change with “Lore.” The film would be adapted from one of the three novellas published in Rachel Seiffert's book, “The Dark Room.” It would play multiple festivals all over the world, grabbing positive reviews everywhere it went. It would even be Australia's submission to the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, though it wouldn't receive a nomination. The film would put Shortland's name on the lips of many international critics.

It's 1944 and, in Germany, World War II is coming to a close. The Allies have captured Berlin and Adolf Hitler is dead. The Dressler family – father Vati a Nazi officer, mother Mutti a high society woman – live in a large home in the Black Forest. The parents are forced to leave, becoming prisoners-of-war. This leaves the children to fend for themselves. Oldest girl Hannelore must look after her five younger siblings, including the infant Peter. With few resources, they soon set off to find their grandmother's home in Hamburg. Crossing war torn Germany, Lore befriends a Jewish boy named Thomas. Forced to survive the harsh environment, Lore must confront her own identity.

The saying is well-known: In war, the history books are written by the victors. The cinematic version of World War II, the "Last Good War" for us Americans, has played out on-screen a thousand times. It's not often that a film forces us to consider the losers in this conflict, those who do not write the history books. In “Lore,” we see how German life was devastated by loosing the war. The cities are destroyed. The people are starving. The borders are chopped up by competing superpowers. The traditional rules of society are breaking down. An invading force, openly hostile to the natives, are rolling through the country. The citizens are innocent, caught in a conflict none of them have any control over. Just putting this perspective on screen is a bold decision.

However, there is an unavoidable factor to “Lore.” The filmmakers are in the unenviable position of trying to get us to sympathize with literal Nazis. Lore's father is a commanding officer in the Third Reich. Her mother was active in wartime social functions. Her little brothers are Hitler Youths. Lore herself has an antisemitic outburst late in the film. Many of the German people spotted throughout the film are already espousing the belief that the Holocaust is an American hoax. This is, of course, exactly the point. Throughout the story, Lore is forced to confront the idea that the life she knew – the perfect bubble she lived in, of Nazi high society – is a total lie. That the regime she believed in was built on racism and genocide. When she sees the photos of Holocaust victims, she is shocked and crestfallen. She cannot deny their reality. This is a valid idea to explore. Still, generating sympathy for Nazis is not a comfortable plot point.

The specifics of the conflict are obviously extremely important to “Lore.” Yet this is also a film that fits neatly into a genre often seen in arty, foreign language dramas: Miserablist tales about the horrors of war. Yes, “Lore” is not an easy watch. In order to survive, Lore and her siblings have to go through hell. They are frequently filthy. One unnerving episode has them staying with a clearly mentally unstable woman, who forces them to stand around in their underwear. Lore is forced to give away her mother's ring, her last prized possession. Most bitterly, one of the children is senselessly killed before our eyes. When watching films like this, I often can't help but grow a little numb. One can only take so much cinematic misery before tuning out.

One grim fact of war especially floats over the film. Harrelore's status as a young woman, physically budding and virginal, can't help but make her vulnerable. An air of sexual menace floats over most of the film. The siblings, early on, discover the corpse of a woman who was clearly assaulted. While trying to court favor with a fisherman, Lore nearly offers up her body. Thomas is introduced having rough, though apparently consensual, sex with a woman early on. Whenever Lore is alone with him, you fear for her. It's unavoidable fact that this is an unspeakably awful threat a girl in this situation must have faced every day.

Even with its bleak historical setting, “Lore” still has some things in common with Shortland's earlier movies. Like “Somersault,” this is a coming-of-age story. Harrelore definitely begins the story as a child. She loves her parents and think they are always right. She sees her younger siblings as burdens of sorts. By the story's end, all of this will change. She'll realize that authority figures can be wrong. That she has a special bond with her brothers and sisters. Though her relationship with Thomas is anything but typical, it is a young romance of sorts. She feels drawn to the boy in ways she doesn't entirely understand. Much like her debut, “Lore” is another Cate Shortland movie about a teenage girl in a serious state of transition.

Even though this is only her third feature, Shortland's visual trademarks are well established by now. “Lore” maintains the gritty style seen in her first two films. Once again, the film is shot in a partially handheld fashion, that emphasizes sometimes shaky camerawork. There's a lot of close-ups on the faces and bodies of her actors. All in the name of capturing a greater sense of grounded reality. Likewise, the color palette is largely gray and overcast. Which is befitting of a gloomy and dark tale like this, though I'm really starting to miss those burst of colors we saw in “Somersault.” Some of Shortland's less desirable visual quirks, such as a tendency to punctuate scenes with slow motion, also returns.

Another reoccurring element from “The Silence” that, perhaps, I could have done without is some more overly on-the-nose symbolism. As Harrelore discovers her family legacy is totally full of shit, she soon learns that other people around her are lying as well. This is a largely unnecessary plot twist that adds little to the film. (Though it reveals the title as a pun of sorts, “Lore” referring to both the main character and the myths we tell ourselves.) There's also the loaded visual symbolism of a porcelain deer she carries with her throughout the film. When reunited with her grandmother, she places the toy deer with a set of similar elk. Soon afterwards, she smashes all of them, rejecting the familial legacy she was expected to carry. Yeah, we get it. Thanks for ladling that on.

Here's something I haven't really mentioned yet. Even though “Lore” was directed by an Australian, produced by Australians, and co-written by a Brit, the film is entirely in German. This must have presented some interesting challenges for the cast and crew. Shortland, apparently, does not speak a word of German. I wonder how she communicated clearly with the cast? Either way, it is an interesting choice. It adds an appropriate level of verisimilitude to film, as that subconscious Hollywood question of “Why are the Germans speaking English?” never enters into the question.

The cast is uniformly strong. Saskia Rosendahl would only be making her second screen appearance here. Yet she gives an impressive performance. Rosendahl plays Harrelore as a girl doing everything she can to carry the sudden load on her shoulders. She frays under the pressure sometimes, physically shaking or tearing up. Yet she never admits defeat, charging onward in order to protect her younger siblings. Rosendahl shows all these complex feelings largely with her face, hinting at the interior strife without ever overdoing it. Her emotional outbursts are well-earned and cathartic.

The supporting cast is also well utilized. Kai Malina as Thomas does a good job of leaving the audience uncertain of his motivations. At times, he is effectively menacing. Other times, he seems sincere, even sweet. He successfully conveys the idea that the boy himself is uncertain of his own feelings. Ursina Lardi is quietly heartbreaking as the mother. She might be despondent over the death of Der Fuhrer, yet there's something undeniably human about the way she breaks down. Among the younger siblings, Nele Trebs as Liesel, the younger sister, makes the best impression. She carries a certain sardonic edge to her dialogue that makes her stand out among the other kids.

Ultimately, “Lore” is a movie I admire more than I like. Grim and serious motion pictures like this aren't really designed to be “liked” anyway. The film effectively makes its point, showing us the complex emotions the defeated side of a conflict must feel. Its young cast is very good, Rosendahl being especially impressive. It's a well constructed and shot film. Yet it's also not as deep or thoughtful as it postures to be. The film sometimes feels like a depressing slog. While there are certain things to admire about “Lore” – I won't deny that it's obviously a good film – I don't think it's one I'll be revisiting anytime soon. [Grade: B-]