Lore

LORE

Director : Cate Shortland

Year : 2013

Genre : Drama

Rating : ***1/2



 

Australian born director Cate Shortland has created some of the most provocative and insightful movies of the past 10 years. 2004's 'Somersault' explored the differences between sex and love and her extraordinary new film 'Lore' delves deep into the naivety and the innocence of childhood. While films have explored the Second World War through the eyes of a child such as 'The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas',  'Lore' manages to portray the betrayal and usurpation of a young childs mind to instil evil and destructive thoughts in a believable and palpable way, without having to resort to cheap moments of intended pity or sorrow. Set during the backdrop of the American liberation of Nazi Germany, 'Lore' tells the story of a young girl who discovers the truth about her heritage and the ridiculous ideologies she has been made to believe. With scenes of graphic violence, underage sex and an astonishing air of doom and melancholia, 'Lore' is certainly not a film for children, but for anyone who is interested in the Holocaust or even human psychology, this film is a must see.

1945. Hitler has committed suicide and those responsible for the Holocaust are being imprisoned for war crimes. Lore and her 3 younger siblings are sent away by their parents to escape from the impending liberation and are forced to journey 500 miles across the country to live with an elderly relative. On their travels through the barren and desolate Vaterland, they encounter a young man, a man who Lore has been taught to despise and soon she and her siblings must question their values and their beliefs to survive.

At the heart of 'Lore' is the idea of destruction. Not only is there the destruction of the country but the destruction of a young girls beliefs and psychology. Throughout the movie, we see long establishing shots of derelict buildings, scorched countryside and the burning of incriminating documents by cowardly war criminals and these moments add to the air of hopelessness and utter annihilation. Choosing her scenes of violence and death carefully, Shortland shows us the effects of disease, famine and ruination in a shocking but completely tasteful and realistic way. This was a time of mass murder, betrayal and secrecy and through her use of extreme close ups and hand held camera work, Shortland manages to capture every single expression that characters makes in a very intimate and intrusive way; from a child's look of terror to a German's glare of hatred at a runaway Jew. In this way, 'Lore' bears much resemblance to Haneke's 'The White Ribbon' which also portrays the loss of childhood and the unexpected burden of becoming an adult.

Lead actress Saskia Rosendahl is brilliant as the titular Lore, who has come to realise that all of her values and thoughts have been rooted in evil. This revelation crushes her and through the use of the aforementioned close camera work, we see in extreme detail how these moments affect her both physically and psychologically. Forced to take care of 3 other children, Lore has become the older sister to the mothering figure; even having to go as far as breastfeeding her infant brother and this monumental pressure and anxiety destroys her spirit and her hope. For such a young actress, Rosendahl does a phenomenal job and it is through her big eyes and closed body language we see the frustration, anger and utter betrayal that has come to light. The young children are also brilliantly naturalistic and Shortland manages to bring out the best performances and the true emotions from her young cast with ease.

While 'Lore' is a fantastic tome on the innocence of youth, there are scenes of sexual activity and graphic nudity which I found to be deeply problematic. Scenes of full frontal female nudity and scenes of an otherwise sexual nature are seen throughout the film and to me, these didn't seem to add anything to the narrative or the characterisations. However, these incidents are very far and few between and they do not interrupt the flow of the story.

Cate Shortland has once again proved that she is one of the most intriguing and intelligent directors working in cinema today. Ending on a distinctly sour and questioning tone, 'Lore' is a film that will stay with me for a long while. While thousands were exposed as evil war criminals, we sometimes forget the innocents trapped in the middle of a corrupt and malicious society and 'Lore' shows us in full view, the ideologies, the false beliefs and the blank naivety of a young German child living in the grasp of the Nazi's. The forgotten innocents.