WOMAN IN GOLD (2015 Berlin International Film Festival Berlin Germany)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 4.8|5.0 Stars ìììì

Woman in Gold is an easy to miss classic. While it has its own value as a historical piece, it also excels in entertainment value due to the superb acting skills of Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds and its outstanding script. There is one particularly memorable scene, where character Randy Shoenberg’s (Ryan Reynolds) wife urges him to proceed with his work even though she is about to give birth, that is particularly poignant. Outstanding job by Director Simon Curtis.

Storyline

Austrian Nazis imprison Frederick Altmann because his brother, Bernhard Altmann, who is safe in England, will not give up the Altmann family textile company to Nazi ownership. Consequently, to save his brother, Bernhard finally gives the company up and Frederick Altmann and his wife, Maria, escape to America through a series of hair splitting maneuvers. Years later, an aged and widowed Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren) finds, in her deceased sister’s belongings, a letter that references a Gustav Klimt (Moritz Bleibtreu) painting of their aunt Adele Bloch-Bauer (Antje Traue) and her sister’s attempts to retrieve it as well as other artwork owned by their family when they lived in Austria. Maria Altmann asks an inexperienced lawyer, E. Randol Shoenberg (Ryan Reynolds), to take on the task of legally reclaiming the family artwork from the Austrian government.

Additional Thanks

Thank you to Director Simon Curtis for directing effort. Thank you to Executive Producers Len Blavatnik, Simon Curtis, Tim Jackson, Christine Langan, Ed Wethered, Robert Walak, Ed Rubin, Bob and Harvey Weinstein, Negeen Yazdi, and Alan Yentob for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Hubertus Czernin (Daniel Brühl), Pam Shoenberg (Katie Holmes), Young Maria Altmann (Tatiana Maslany), Fritz Altmann (Max Irons), Sherman (Charles Dance), Judge Florence Cooper (Elizabeth McGovern), Chief Justice Rehnquist (Jonathan Pryce), Barbara Shoenberg (Frances Fisher), and Heinrich (Tom Schilling).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Yes. It’s superb for the teen and adult audience for both education and entertainment. It’s an excellent choice as an addition to personal library film collections due to its historical value.

Ben Meyers