“Woman in Gold” tells the true story of Maria Altmann, an elderly Jew who survived the Holocaust and who discovers, on the occasion of her sister’s death, the latter’s attempt to regain ownership of a work by Gustav Klimt that belonged to her family: the portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I.
The painting is oil on canvas and the first of two paintings with the same name; it depicts the daughter of the entrepreneur Maurice Bauer, who has married the son of Baron Bloch, a wealthy sugar entrepreneur.
The painting, perfectly square (138×138 cm), is the most famous of the canvases from Klimt’s so-called “golden period” and, at the end of the war, became the symbol of the Austrian nation.
The painting is confiscated by the Nazis just to Adele Bloch-Bauer, the legitimate owner and aunt of Maria Altmann, shortly before the outbreak of World War II: the confiscation takes place as part of the persecution of the Jewish families who, throughout Europe, suffer all sorts of violence, physical and psychological.
Having learned of the story after her sister’s death, the elderly Mrs Altman decides to do everything in her power to regain ownership of the painting: a bit for revenge, a bit to provide herself and the memory of her family with a minimum compensation for what the Nazis have stolen from her.
For this, the protagonist hires the young lawyer Randy Schoenberg (grandson of the composer Arnold and also Jewish) to challenge the Austrian government and regain possession of the prestigious painting.
With what result? You’ll find out during the film.
Now watch the trailer, then I’ll tell you what aspects I suggest you pay attention to.
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The movie had different reviews, which little have focused on the countless food for thought that it offers. Here are the ones that most caught my attention:
In short, a film full of lessons that I recommend you watch carefully.
Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds, Daniel Brühl, Katie Holmes, Tatiana Maslany, Max Irons, Charles Dance