The main point of the film is the story of the Jewish-American woman Maria recovering the artwork taken by the Nazis in World War II—the "Portrait of Adele One" painted by Gustav Klimt. In this incident, although the painting was placed in the Belvedere Palace in Vienna, Austria according to Adele's own will, the painting did not arrive at the Belvedere Palace because of the will, but was sent to the Belvedere Palace by the Nazis. This goes against Adele's own spirit, and even an insult to the Jews who were persecuted in World War II. Therefore, Adele's niece, the heroine of the film Maria (Helen Mirren) sued the Austrian government and recovered the paintings belonging to her family. "Woman in Gold" uses real cases to describe the destruction of ordinary people by the Nazis and discuss the influence of power on the people. The film consists of two timelines, one is the case of the return of the artwork, and the other is the Nazi invasion of Austria. Maria's attitude on the two lines is clearly different. Faced with the cruel genocide of the Nazis, she was unable to resist and chose to flee. When she had a fair and just opportunity, even in the face of the state apparatus, she and her lawyer, the male protagonist Randy (played by Ryan Reynolds) ), still fought resolutely. The Nazi slaughter not only destroyed the life of the protagonist, but also became a legacy of the times. The painting was plundered by the Nazis, but "Portrait of Adele One" has become the "Mona Lisa of Austria" and a national treasure. Therefore, the Austrian government distorted the fact of the plunder and even erased the name of "Adele" in the painting. Faced with the issue of the return of national treasures, the Austrian people are divided into two attitudes in the film. Some Austrians are unwilling to admit the fact that they once embraced Hitler, and even still agree with racism in their hearts, while some are willing to atone for the evil deeds of their ancestors.
Maria appeared on the stage with a bitter, arrogant and arrogant image, and was discouraged in the struggle. The film deliberately set her into an unpleasant image, trying to test whether the audience can choose the righteous side. And when we put ourselves in the position and think about the attitude of the Austrian people, this torture becomes more and more profound. How can our national treasures, such as the "Beast Head of the Chinese Zodiac" be recovered? When we have historical relics from other countries, do we have the ability to keep the cultural relics in the country, and do we have the tolerance to return the cultural relics to their original owners? Can we accept the humiliation suffered by our country and nation? Can you face up to the evil you have done? Our country did go through a period of turbulence decades ago. Regarding the cultural relics destroyed during the turbulent period, do the perpetrators have the courage to admit and apologize? The film can not only see the progress of the civilization of the times, but also the condemnation of the war by the anti-wars, and even the Jewish reckoning of history.
The narrative of the film is only divided into good people and bad people, so the portrayal of the characters is facial. Because the story is told from Maria’s perspective, the other side of the court, the Austrian government, lacks description. This approach is to make the main story clearer, but the film can be stretched, making the core of the story more complicated. What should be complicated is not only the core of the story, but the characters should also be more complicated. This film describes this real case as a story of heroes against the state apparatus, but the case involves national treasures, and even the lines in the film ridicule the case will worsen international relations, so there should be more complicated interests behind the case. More related characters appeared. For example, Estee Lauder's son could have played more roles after he played. The two timelines of the film are smooth and natural in editing. At the same time, the picture uses two tones to distinguish. The old days were biased towards red due to the Nazis, while the timeline of the case was biased towards yellow as a whole. In photography, director Simon Curtis has been using subtle push, pull and pan to add movement to the almost static body language. He likes to shoot the scene first when cutting to a new frame, and then move the lens to the character. Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack is particularly nice. He helped restore the prosperity of the Jewish upper class in Austria before World War II and the sadness afterwards. The soundtrack of the whole film and the emotions expressed are in good harmony, and even the emotions need to be conveyed by the soundtrack. Helen Mirren’s performance is undoubtedly the best, her role is naturally integrated into the plot, allowing the audience to focus on the development of the story. She supported the acting of this movie. Ryan Reynolds once again proved that his performance is hundreds of times better than his screenwriter.
Finally, "The Woman in Gold" is recommended.
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