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guide in English to films showing in Germany.
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KLARSFELD: A LOVE STORY
Martin Herring, Mike Lerner, Great Britain 2022
KLARSFELD: A LOVE STORY, which celebrated its world premiere in Hamburg, is a moving documentary that reminds us of how powerful political cinema can be.
Beate and Serge Klarsfeld have shared their lives and their political commitment for more than 50 years, ensuring that Nazi war criminals don't go unpunished and that their victims regain a piece of their dignity. The intrepid couple has hunted, confronted, and exposed criminals including – famously – Klaus Barbie, the notorious chief of the Gestapo in France who was known as the “Butcher of Lyon.” Now in their 80s, the Klarsfelds continue their activism against far-right extremists.
Serge Klarsfeld is a French Jewish historian and lawyer who fled the Nazis with his family to Nice: His father was murdered in Auschwitz. Beate Klarsfeld, born in Berlin, became (in)famous in 1968 for going onstage during a CDU (Christian Democratic Union) party conference and slapping Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger, a former Nazi party member, across the face. The symbolic slap caused an uproar and made her a persona non grata in Germany for years. But that was just the beginning…
The film features testimonies from Holocaust survivors, fellow activists, friends, and family. It shows the couple receiving awards (including from a teary-eyed Emmanuel Macron). Yet it is also the story of the love affair between Beate and Serge – fellow activists, hunting partners, husband and wife, parents. The Klarsfelds are the power couple of antifascism, role models for activists and decent human beings who seek justice.
I bought a ticket for this particular screening so I could see the inside of the monumental Hapag-Lloyd building on Ballindamm. Far from the usual scrum of scruffy cinemagoers, entering visitors were approached by servers bearing drinks and hors d'oeuvres. Hapag-Lloyd is a long-time supporter of Filmfest Hamburg; the company has a particular interest in the Klarsfelds because their founder, shipping magnate Albert Ballin, happened to be a prominent Jew.
At the close of this inspiring film, cinemagoers were rewarded by the presence of the Klarsfelds themselves. Luckily for us, they still have plenty to say.