As Lore opens, Hitler has just died and the German defeat in WW II is complete. A Nazi couple are about to be imprisoned for WW II atrocities, leaving their 14- and 12-year-old girls, 8-year-old twin boys and an infant little brother to make their own way through the chaos of post-war Germany. Lore is the oldest sister who must navigate the band to their grandmother hundreds of miles away.
It’s a very harsh environment. Cities are bombed out, the economy has crashed and the German people are suffering such deprivations that even the warm-hearted cannot afford to give away food to strangers – and there aren’t many warm hearts around. Social order has completely broken down, and everyone is suspicious of everyone else. On top of it all, the German people are shaken by the exposure of the extermination camps. The occupying forces run the gamut from hard-eyed Americans to homicidal Russians. The safest route involves hiking through the Black Forest and crossing a major river, all while trying to finagle some morsels to eat and avoid getting killed.
Along the way, they are guided by another refugee, a Holocaust survivor. Yes, that is ironic and unsettling, and the relationship between this figure and the kids never gets comfortable.
Lore’s strength is its singular viewpoint – that of the innocent children of monstrous people. The audience’s instinct to root for children is challenged because these kids, while not culpable for their parents’ crimes, have been indoctrinated with some very ugly beliefs. The arc of the Lore character is particularly dramatic.
However, Lore is very grim. The intensity is so unrelenting, as the children face danger after danger, that it wearies the audience. Aussie director and co-writer Cate Shortland has chosen not to include any moments of respite for the audience. For better movies that mine this subject, see my list of 5 Essential Holocaust Films.
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