I love a movie because there is more than what is on the surface. As I went into Woman In Gold, I was filled with trepidation because I had certain expectations for it. It looked good by the trailers, but there was a nagging doubt in my head this would fall flat like another Monuments Men because of the similar material. Turns out I needn't had worried.
Woman In Gold starts off with an older Jewish lady, Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren), an Austrian woman who was forced to flee her country and everything she owned when the Nazis marched into Austria in March 1938 during the Anshluss. Among the many things stolen from her family were five paintings by the art nouveau master Gustav Klimpt, including a magnificent portrait of Maria's aunt. It is now 1999 in Los Angeles, and after Maria's sister's funeral, she discovers some papers that reminded her of this painting. Since WWII, it had been hanging in the Belvedere Gallery in Vienna, obtained by the gallery through some very dubious legal means. The Woman In Gold has since become the pride of Austria, its Mona Lisa. She contacts Randol Schonenberg (Ryan Reynolds), a lawyer friend of the family and grandson to the great Austrian composer Arnold Sconenberg. Together, they set out on a multi year quest to get the paintings rightfully restored to her, vaulting over every legal hurdle the Austrian Government can erect, despite its stated desire to return stolen art back to their rightful owners.
I half expected this to be a so-so movie like The Monuments Men. This movie is saved by two factors: the likability of the two leads, and the greater theme of the picture. Mirren's Altmann, in particular, is stunning. She comes across as a bit of a stereotypical uptight German, but with just the right amount of mischievous glint in her eye. She could have come across as a very unlikable character, but instead, you get to love her very quickly. This identification with her is critical if you are to get invested in the story. Reynolds' Schonenberg is the perfect mix of earnestnestness and snarkiness, and their personalities blend beautifully to make a thoroughly lovable couple of people you want to know more about.
But more important, and what the film is really about, is coming to terms with the past. As Altmann faces her painful past and Schonenberg gets an appreciation for what his recent ancestors went through, the bigger question is what happens when a nation doesn't want to face it's embarrassing mistakes. Austria, in this case, cannot admit to the crime of not only stealing the paintings, but also upholding a will of dubious legal stature as their chief argument. An Austrian ally to Altmann tells her frankly that Austria will never part with the paintings; partly because of the social significance to Austria, but, more importantly, if they were to own this particular mistake, they would have to own it all. That is, Austria did not really resist the Anschluss very much, despite what The Sound of Music would have us believe. No, Austrians, for the most part, welcomed the Nazis in with open arms as liberators. They also allowed the systematic robbery and killing of its Jewish population with approving hearts. It is not easy to have brutal self-awareness of your faults, especially collectively as a nation, and what the implications of those faults may bring. It also points out that anti-Semitism is still very much alive and well in Europe, despite what many believe is real progress to reconciliation of its shameful past. This movie looks at that age-old prejudice and lays it bare through Maria Altmann's story. A great film with a lot to chew on.
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