|
|
November 5, 2004
Their husbands defence
Film portrays women who rallied on Rosenstrasse.
BAILA LAZARUS EDITOR
The issue of mixed marriages does not often come up in films about
the Holocaust, which is why I looked forward to watching Rosenstrasse.
The film, which was directed by Margarethe von Trotta, focuses on
an event in 1943 that took place on the street from which the movie
derives its title. It was a protest by Aryan women, married to Jewish
men who had been rounded up and were being deported. The wives were
told that the men were being sent to work camps but they were being
sent to Auschwitz.
In February 1943, a small group of women gathered outside the Jewish
welfare building on Rosenstrasse, where their husbands were being
held. That number grew to several hundred and from the hesitant,
intimidated women who arrived at the beginning, they became strong,
defiant rallyers crying for their husbands release, calling the
Nazi guards "murderers."
If the movie were just about Rosenstrasse, with the requisite amount
of information leading up to the actual event, it would be a very
interesting, hour-and-a-half historical drama. As it is, however,
it meanders along an uneven, non-chronological path with a variety
of plot lines that take the movie to over two hours and make for
some tedious viewing.
It takes 45 minutes, for example, before Rosenstrasse even appears
in the movie. Some scenes get confusing when the director goes from
color (indicating present-day) to black and white (indicating Second
World War period) to color again (some point before the Jewish husbands
are arrested, but it's not clear when). It's actually hard to tell
sometimes exactly how much time is supposed to have passed between
scenes. For example, how long the women stand outside on the street
is unclear. It seems like several days, but it could have been several
weeks. The actual events occurred over a period of eight days.
Although the film is based on a true story, many details about the
circumstances are still disputed, such as how many women actually
participated in the protest and whether a sexual encounter between
one of the women and a German officer led to the men's release (the
latter point is left ambiguous in the movie).
Despite some flaws, the acting is excellent and the film does give
a good sense of the events of the time. If you can keep track of
who's who and what's happening when, it's worth taking a look.
Rosenstrasse is playing at Tinseltown.
^TOP
|
|
