Even if it was not unanimously appreciated, Never Look Away is nevertheless one of the best and also one the most beautiful movies of 2018. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s epic is a huge improvement from his remake of The Tourist. With that flop, he had a vision of pairing Angelina Jolie with Johnny Depp. He wasn’t quite wrong since the Golden Globes HFPA nominated the movie just to hang out with the two stars, but these are not my words, these were thrown as an inside joke by Ricky Gervais, the drunken host at the event.
An art poster for Never Look Away
[source for all pics: imdb.com]
Never Look Away – Plot
As a child, Kurt was fascinated by the female body. He was encouraged by her beautiful aunt, Elisabeth. She had a way with people and with Kurt especially. Never look away can refer to more than one situation: her naked body shown to her nephew, eight or ten years old, the art nouveau’s quirked beauty, life’s beauty, Nazi’s crimes, life’s madness, the absurd of totalitarianism. She told little Kurt to never look away, no matter what happens, because there will always be something to see if you know how to watch.
Saskia Rosendahl in Hitlerjugend
I won’t give you spoilers, but you’ll catch them anywhere you’ll read about the movie. Kurt had the misfortune to live in Dresden, the exquisite city bombed without conscience by the Allies during World War II. So, after the war, he was trapped in what became DDR, the Eastern “democratic” Germany, occupied by the Soviets.
Tom Schilling as Kurt, the artist
Kurt’s destiny was to be a painter, his talent was appreciated by everyone, his skills were envied by the mediocre. He went to art school in a post-war communist Germany where the policy was the socialist realism. He met his future wife, Ellie at the same school. They flee to West Germany where Kurt is admitted to the famous Düsseldorf’s Fine Arts Academy. Soon he is going to define his style.
Oliver Masucci at the Art Academy
Cast
Tom Schilling is Kurt Barnert, the talented artist. Sebastian Koch is Professor Carl Seeband, Ellie’s father. Paula Beer is Ellie Seeband. Saskia Rosendahl is Elisabeth May, Kurt’s aunt. Oliver Masucci is Professor Antonius van Verten, from Düsseldorf’s Fine Arts Academy. Written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The original title is Werk ohne Author.
The versatile Sebastian Koch
Trailer and Other Considerations
It was wanted for this pearl of a movie to represent the renown modern painter Gerhard Richter’s biography. Because the artist declined to cooperate, the story was tweaked here and there. For me, it doesn’t matter at all, because this very Never Look Away story is extraordinary as it is, be it Kurt Barnert’s or Gerhard Richter’s. When he was young and his father was tormented by the fact that he was compiled to become a Nazi, as unimportant as it was, Kurt came with the idea that he discovered the secret of the world. “Don’t worry father, I know now the secret of the world. No harm will come to us anymore.”
Tom Schilling and Paula Beer
I felt the same when I was his age. I have too, had all the solutions. It’s important to never look away from them.
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Interesting reading. Thank you for sharing
You are too kind, Gabriele 🙂