A lovely tone poem that explores mortality, legacy and family through the fascinating German writer Thomas Mann. Having read Buddenbrooks earlier this year, this serves almost as an epilogue or additional chapter to that tragic family saga.
Sandra Huller shines in this film, as the true keeper and scholar of Mann’s brilliant legacy and the family’s tragic curse.
I’d have liked a longer exploration of Mann’s life and legacy - but this is somewhat perfect almost Wild Strawberries-eque tale it wishes to tell. A fascinating slice of history, that shows how some of these issues can never be resolved.
*post-screening Q&A with director Pawel Pawilkowski