Coming from Germany, this is a brave and moving mini-series about what war does to friends and family
I think it's the red dress that does it for me, starts me off in *Generation War: Our Mothers, Our Fathers* (BBC2, Saturday). It's often the little things, a moment of loveliness when everything else is getting so very unlovely, a reminder of beauty, tenderness, humanity. Like the girl in the red coat in Schindler's List. Red clothes, they make you (me) cry.
The dress is from Viktor the tailor who has been making it for ages for his girlfriend, Greta. He leaves it on the bed because she's not there: she's off with the Nazi officer, betraying Viktor. (Betrayal crops up a lot in Philipp Kadelbach's epic three-part German mini-series). But Greta is also saving Viktor, bravely and selflessly, because she loves him; the Nazi officer could be Viktor's ticket out of there, a chance of survival. This is Berlin, 1941; Viktor is Jewish. He's going away, to America he hopes, she hopes, we hope. Whatever, it will be very hard for Greta and Viktor to see each other ever again.
Continue reading... Reported by guardian.co.uk 12 hours ago.
I think it's the red dress that does it for me, starts me off in *Generation War: Our Mothers, Our Fathers* (BBC2, Saturday). It's often the little things, a moment of loveliness when everything else is getting so very unlovely, a reminder of beauty, tenderness, humanity. Like the girl in the red coat in Schindler's List. Red clothes, they make you (me) cry.
The dress is from Viktor the tailor who has been making it for ages for his girlfriend, Greta. He leaves it on the bed because she's not there: she's off with the Nazi officer, betraying Viktor. (Betrayal crops up a lot in Philipp Kadelbach's epic three-part German mini-series). But Greta is also saving Viktor, bravely and selflessly, because she loves him; the Nazi officer could be Viktor's ticket out of there, a chance of survival. This is Berlin, 1941; Viktor is Jewish. He's going away, to America he hopes, she hopes, we hope. Whatever, it will be very hard for Greta and Viktor to see each other ever again.
Continue reading... Reported by guardian.co.uk 12 hours ago.