LORE (GERMAN) (2012)

The lasting scars of war are seldom physical. It is the psyche of human beings - both perpetrators and victims - which are irreparably singed by the sins of war and remain as scars for the rest of their lives. Lore is a movie that dwells on the changes in the psyche of its protagonists, wrought by a wasting war. It is based on The Dark Room, Booker shortlisted novel by Rachel Seiffert.

Lore is set in the final days of the Second World War and presents the aftermath of the war on Germany as seen through the eyes of it's protagonist, a German teenager Lore Dressler (an ethereal Saskia Rosendahl). Lore is the daughter of a senior SS officer and has four siblings - a sister and three brothers, the last being an infant. Both her father and mother are staunch Nazis and Lore herself is brought up with their indoctrination from her parents as well as from the organisation of Hitler Youth, of which she has remained an member.

The film begins in the palatial home of Lore when an apparently normal day is abruptly turned upside down as her father and mother race to flee the impending arrival of the allied forces, torching all evidence of involvement with the evil acts of the Nazi rule. Soon, we see both the parents fleeing the rest of the family, fearing possible arrest and incarceration for their misdeeds under the Nazi regime. Lore is forcibly entrusted with entrusted with the onerous responsibility of shepherding her siblings to the relative safety of their grandmother's home near Hamburg. However, that would involve a gruelling trek through the wilds of the black forest and confronting a variety of challenges including hunger, capture, etc. which test them and threaten them. They are also joined by Thomas, an apparent escapee from a concentration camp who shadows the family continuously. Lore is deeply suspicious of his intentions and is unsure if he is a predator or a protector of the family. She feels utter disgust and contempt for him and attempts repeatedly to keep him away from her siblings. Nevertheless, we do find that Thomas coming to the family's rescue more than once and accompanies them in this ordeal. Lore, however, thanks to her years of indoctrination, is unable to resign herself to the thought that she & her family are forced to find shelter under the wings of Thomas, a Jew, albeit being thankful for the same. 

Besides her quandary about her feelings towards Thomas, she is further perplexed by the all-pervasive hunger, ruin, death and destruction of what she hitherto believed to be a just war. Her carefully constructed belief system of the invincibility and the righteousness of the Fuhrer and his war is blown to smithereens when she is confronted with the facts of large scale genocide that he had presided over.

While the mainstay of the movie is about the journey of Lore with her siblings and Thomas and the several events they confront en route, this movie is essentially a coming-of-age tale of its protagonist, Lore. The journey and the destination merely serve as metaphors for the awakening & maturing of Lore and her siblings on several planes. 

The director, Cate Shortland, has helmed this movie with an assured grace and subtlety of a master auteur. The movie also benefits immensely from an effective background score and brilliant cinematography that has provided an aesthetic, almost lyrical, yet very real visual setting. Saskia Rosendahl, playing the lead role of Lore, has given an excellently restrained performance that connects with the viewers and kindles memories of Jennifer Lawrence. Lore, an Australian-German co-production was the official entry from Australia at the 85th Annual Academy Awards in the category of  Best Foreign Language Film, but did not make it to the shortlist of final nominees. 

Overall, Lore is an excellent movie that offers a unique perspective on war and raises several questions on a multitude of issues such as collective belief systems, state propaganda, etc. which are very relevant for our present days too.

A VERY GOOD WATCH !!