Directed by Andreas Dresen
Starring Liv Lisa Fries and Johannes Hegemann

By virtue of the sheer volume of lives taken and devastatingly impacted during The Holocaust, it more than understandably and deservedly is central to almost all WWII films set in Europe, especially in Germany. There are, however, other stories too. Stories that certainly do not match the magnitude of true accounts to emerge from the years-long genocide of European Jews (yes, I’m referencing you, Schindler’s List) yet demonstrate that if people were not actively supporting the Nazi agenda, they were against it and treated as an enemy. From Hilde, With Love presents one of those other stories.

It is 1942 in Berlin when a heavily pregnant young woman, Hilde (played by Liv Lisa Fries from TV series Babylon Berlin and the new Anthony Hopkins film, Freud’s Last Session) is taken from her home by members of the Gestapo, interrogated, and imprisoned indefinitely. They have reason to believe that Hilde, together with her husband Hans (Johannes Hegemann), is part of a German resistance group to Nazism. From Hilde, With Love details Hilde’s imprisonment as she awaits a trial date and learns of her fate while providing regular flashbacks centred on her passionate romance with Hans.

Taking nothing away from Holocaust films and the devastating, powerful and consequential true stories they often present, it was refreshing to view a WWII film set in Germany that portrays the true account of another victim of the war the world is far less acquainted with. As a production, From Hilde, With Love contains all of the content required to support the significance of its story, which is enough on its own to pack quite an emotional punch. However, the manner in which this story has been packaged unfortunately lets it down. The frequent flashbacks to various and unspecified timelines prior to Hilde’s imprisonment pull viewers out of the state of uncertainty, anxiety, and limbo she is stuck in. The events depicted prior to her being detained are absolutely of importance to the central story, the characterisation, and also change the tone of the movie by way of infusing it with plenty of romance. Instead, they often feel like an unwelcoming and interrupting distraction, slow the overall pace of the film in an uncomplimentary way and left me wishing this story was told in chronological order. One noteworthy aspect that does remain a more positive contribution all throughout though is the anchoring performance of Liv Lisa Fries.

From Hilde, With Love is showing in selected cinemas across Australia as part of the HSBC German Film Festival from the 10th – 29th of May.

Moviedoc thanks Palace, the HSBC German Film Festival, and Miranda Brown Publicity for the invitation to the screening of this film.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc

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