‘Woman in Gold’ grants humanity and dignity to Jews whose family art treasures were looted by Nazis
OKLAHOMA CITY – Moments of clarity come and go. As children, our imaginations conjure visions and hopes — that in every instance we will behave nobly, or at least reasonably so.
Seeking to recover the masterpiece, Maria and Randol are befriended in Austria by journalist Hubertus Czernin (Daniel Brühl), who guides them through Austrian arcania, a stacked deck against reparations for victims of the Nazi Holocaust.
Complicated legal questions unfold, with respect for the contending parties.
Nicely done are a series of flashbacks to Maria’s youth, and to Aunt Adele (Antje Traue) in her glorious prime.
Before and after trips to her once-beloved home town, Maria doubts the efficacy of Randol’s increasingly passionate (and for a long time, uncompensated) legal efforts. She is dragged kicking and screaming along the path to justice.
Mirren is superb in the lead, Reynolds is her equal as the cynic-turned-crusader. For a time, one fears that Randol’s new-found idealism may end his marriage to Pam (Katie Holmes, in a solid performance).
Jonathan Pryce is effective in a brief cameo as Chief Justice William Rehnquist, presiding when Maria’s case is heard before the U.S. Supreme Court. During oral arguments, the camera lingers long enough on the faces of the justices that it is fun to play “who’s who” for a moment, despite the gravity of what is portrayed on the screen.
Near the story’s end, filmmakers permit themselves an imaginative and artistic sequence, in which Maria returns to her former home, to walk among her long-lost relatives, and stand in awe before Klimt’s masterpiece.
Briefly touched upon is the irony that Austria could have kept “Woman in Gold” in Vienna, if only government officials had agreed to recognize Maria’s ownership.
The story carries power and poignancy in all places, including here.
The University of Oklahoma’s Fred Jones, Jr. Museum of Art holds at least one painting with a similar progeny.
Good people all, university officials – extending all the way to President David Boren – have convinced themselves they should hang on to “Shepherdess Bringing in the Sheep,” a painting by Camille Pissaro, which Nazis stole from the family of Leone Meyer, who is now seeking to recover it.