We’re off to participate in the Golden Triangle bike ride this Canadian long weekend and will be unplugged from gadgets. I’ll be bringing a paperback copy of Lily King’s 2014 novel “Euphoria” with me to finish. So I plan to review that next week.
Meanwhile the hub and I finally saw the Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds movie “Woman in Gold” last night, which came out in April, and we both really enjoyed it. It’s much better than all the previews made it seem, or the reviews for that matter. I was surprised that the Rotten Tomatoes’ summary called it a “disappointingly dull treatment of a fascinating true story.”
I didn’t find the movie dull in the least, and was utterly absorbed by Maria Altmann’s real life story. Most know by now, that the “Woman in Gold” is about an elderly Jewish woman living in Los Angeles who embarks in 2004, along with her inexperienced young lawyer, on a battle to reclaim her family’s paintings seized by the Nazis during WWII. Among the paintings was Gustav Klimt’s famous portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, who was Maria’s aunt and lived with her family while Maria was growing up in Austria.
Helen Mirren, who plays Maria, is once again terrific in her role as is Ryan Reynolds as her nerdy lawyer, Randol Schoenberg. Both give dynamic performances in their quest of court cases to get the paintings back. Though what really makes the movie come to life are its frequent flashbacks to Maria’s younger years with her aunt and family in Austria and what happens to them when Nazi Germany takes over the country in 1938. There’s chilling and heartbreaking scenes that make the latter story of the paintings reclamation all the more significant.
It’s truly a remarkable story about remembrance and justice for Holocaust victims and one that continues to play out for other Jewish refugees and heirs who are reclaiming possessions and art works from the war. Just today the New York Times reported a Matisse painting was returned to a descendant of Paul Rosenberg’s, a leading art dealer of the times whose collection was looted by the Nazis. See the story here.
For more on Nazi Germany’s plundering of Europe’s great art works during WWII, I would also like to see the 2006 documentary “The Rape of Europa,” which was adapted from the prize-winning 1994 book by Lynn H. Nicholas, and I’ve read is good. I have seen George Clooney’s 2014 movie “The Monuments Men” and unfortunately that movie didn’t seem half as good to me as “Woman in Gold.”
What about you — have you seen the “Woman in Gold,” or any films on that similar topic? And if so, what did you think?
My husband and I have been trying to see this movie for the past couple of weekends… surprisingly, he is very excited about it. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.
Enjoy the bike race!
Thanks JoAnn. I look forward to hearing if you liked the movie.
Helen Mirren is wonderful in everything she’s in. Glad you enjoyed it!
Here’s my Sunday Salon.
Thanks Deb. Yeah you’re right. Helen Mirren is excellent as usual!
I haven’t seen it, but my wife and I like Helen Mirren. We’ll have to look for it when it comes out on DVD.
Yeah definitely Bryan, check it out on DVD. It’s worth it.
I’m glad to hear you liked the movie. Although I love the painting and Helen Mirren, I was put off by the mixed reviews. After reading your review, I may see it. Euphoria was one of my favorite books from last year. Enjoy!
Yeah Sarah: I was also put off by the movie’s mixed or poor reviews. That’s why I waited over a month to see it. But it ended up being better than the reviews or trailers. Worth a DVD at least.
I saw previews for this a while ago and never realized it was out already. It is a movie I definitely want to see as it has two of my favorites – Ryan Reynolds and Helen Mirren – plus involves one of my favorite historical periods. I’m so glad to hear that it is as good as it looks. I will definitely have to check this out.
Oh you should Michelle, especially if you like both actors — I think you’ll like this one.
I thought the movie was excellent — have no idea why it received such mediocre reviews. My husband read the book (which was called LADY in Gold; I don’t know why they changed the name for the movie) and really liked it — he was particularly fascinated by all the background information that wasn’t included in the movie.
Yeah. I think the book would interest me. I would like to find out more details that weren’t in the movie. It’s a tragic story but her perseverance is amazing
You know I thought this movie was terrific too. I was hoping to see the painting it was about when I was in New York but didn’t get the chance.
It was really was worth seeing Kathy. The movie gave me some perspective on it.
The Rape of Europa is really good! I haven’t seen Woman in Gold yet, but I fell in love with Klimt’s work a few years ago. I was in Vienna at the Belvedere Museum and got to see so many of his original paintings. They were just incredible! I really want to see this film now.
Yeah I got to rent the Rape of Europa. Thanks for letting me know. I need to see a Klimt painting up close. It must be unreal! thanks Melissa.