The Invisibles (film)

The Invisibles (German: Die Unsichtbaren – Wir wollen leben) is a 2017 German docudrama by Claus Räfle. The film presents the experience of four Jewish teenagers who survived the Holocaust by going into hiding in Berlin during World War II. It interweaves personal interviews, dramatic reenactment, archival footage, and narration. The main actors are Max Mauff, Alice Dwyer, Ruby O. Fee and Aaron Altaras.

The Invisibles
Directed byClaus Räfle
Produced byClaus Räfle,
Frank Evers
Written byClaus Räfle
Alejandra Lopez
Based onInterviews and recollections of Cioma Schönhaus, Hanni Lévy, Ruth Arndt-Gumpel and Eugen Friede
StarringMax Mauff
Alice Dwyer
Ruby O. Fee
Aaron Altaras
Andreas Schmidt
Music byMatthias Klein
CinematographyJörg Widmer
Edited byJörg Hauschild,
Julia Oehring
Distributed byTobias Film
Release date
  • 8 October 2017 (2017-10-08) (Hamburg Film Festival)
  • 10 October 2017 (2017-10-10)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryGermany
LanguageGerman

Plot

The film recounts the struggle to survive of Cioma Schönhaus, Hanni Lévy, Ruth Arndt-Gumpel and Eugen Friede during their persecution as Jews in Berlin during the war. Their different individual situations are re-enacted, and, in interspersed interviews, they recollect and comment on their experience. Their survival is due to resilience, luck, and helpers. These helpers come from different ways of life, including ordinary everyday people, German citizens, communists, Christians, and people working within the Nazi hierarchy. Helpers put themselves at great risk should they fall into the hands of the Gestapo who work with a network of spies and informants. Schönhaus learns how to falsify passports and other documents he can sell to Franz Kaufmann, a lawyer, who is helping people to escape. He has an encounter with a Jewish informant, Stella Goldschlag, and is fortunate she does not denounce him. One of the persons helping Schönhaus was Helene Jacobs. Hanni Lévy colors her hair blond and learns how to blend in. Eugen Friede lives with a communist German family wearing the uniform of the Hitlerjugend. He meets Werner Scharff who escaped from KZ Theresienstadt. After learning about the horrors of the Holocaust from Werner, Eugen joins the resistance group Community for Peace and Development. Ruth Arndt-Gumpel pretends to be a war widow and serves as a maid in the household of a Nazi officer.

Cast

Production

The interviews with the survivors were conducted in 2009.[1]

The screenplay was jointly written by Claus Räfle and Alejandra López.

The movie was shot between March 30 and May 4, 2016 in Berlin, Wuppertal and Wrisbergholzen (Lower Saxony).[2] In Lower Saxony, scenes were also shot in the attics of the Bückeburg Palace that were used to represent hiding places in Berlin.[3]

The premiere took place on October 10, 2017 in Berlin. Supplied with subtitles the movie had a limited release in the US on January 25, 2019.

Andreas Schmidt died on September 28, 2017, the role of resistance fighter Hans Winkler being the last of his life.

Background

In May 1943 Goebbels declared Berlin "judenfrei" (free of Jews)[4] while about 7,000 Jews had gone into hiding.[3] They and their supporters were being hunted by the Gestapo and their minions. Helpers placed themselves and their families at great risk. The Gestapo also used Jewish informants who were pressured to cooperate. People hiding faced many difficulties: they needed shelter in a place where every person was required to be registered, the food situation was precarious and food cards were used because of food rationing, young men, unless in uniform, were suspect, luggage might be controlled, and lack of documents would lead to arrest and investigations. Towards the end of the war, bombing became a frequent occurrence, and the arrival of the Soviet army carried its own dangers. About 1,700 Jews hidden in Berlin survived the war.[3]

Reception

Reviews were generally positive, as the individual stories were "astonishing"[1] and the four witnesses fascinating. Sheila O'Malley (rogerebert.com) found the memories of the four interviewees vivid and engaging, their testimony important as part of bearing "precise witness."[5] Samantha Incorvaia said that the actors were able "to convey their respective survivors' tenacity and willpower to live". She also noted that a large portion of luck was necessary to survive.[6] Jeanette Catsoulis of the New York Times critiqued the structure, finding the individual stories were too often interrupted for commentary. As well, she wanted to learn more about the motives of the helpers.[1] In contrast to the New York Times review, Filmdienst in Germany appreciated the linkage of witness interviews to their individual stories throughout the film. Filmdienst described the witnesses as gifted narrators who provided dramatic re-enactments of their experiences.[7]

Literature
  • Eugen Herman-Friede: Abgetaucht! Als U-Boot im Widerstand. Tatsachenroman. Gerstenberg, Hildesheim, 2004. ISBN 978-3-8369-5241-5.
  • Cioma Schönhaus: The Forger. London: Granta Books 2007. ISBN 978-1-86207-987-8, translated from German:

Der Passfälscher. Die unglaubliche Geschichte eines jungen Grafikers, der im Untergrund gegen die Nazis kämpfte. Scherz Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2004, ISBN 3-502-15688-3.

  • Claus Räfle: Die Unsichtbaren – Untertauchen, um zu überleben. Eine wahre Geschichte. Elisabeth Sandmann Verlag, 2017
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References
  1. Joanne Catsoulis (January 24, 2019). "'The Invisibles' Review: On the Run and in Plain Sight in World War II". The New York Times. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  2. ""Tobis Film" bringt "Die Unsichtbaren" ins Kino: Dreharbeiten in Wuppertal" (in German). Wuppertaler Rundschau. 2016-05-01. Retrieved 2019-02-02.
  3. "Schloss als Filmkulisse – Dreharbeiten für "Die Unsichtbaren"" (in German). Schaumburger Nachrichten. 2016-05-02. Retrieved 2019-02-02.
  4. "Was war am 19. Mai 1943" [What was on May 19, 1943] (in German). chroniknet.
  5. Shirley O'Malley (January 25, 2019). "The Invisibles". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  6. Samantha Incorvaia (January 31, 2019). "'The Invisibles' review: Lead actors beautifully represent real-life survivors". Arizona Central. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  7. "Die Unsichtbaren – Wir wollen leben". filmdienst.de (in German). Retrieved 2017-11-01.
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