It's 2000, and sixty-something Helga (Juliet Stevenson) leads a contented life running a small dress shop in London. When a letter arrives to say her mother is dying it stirs up memories she'd prefer to suppress. She shares some of her worries with granddaughter Emily (Lucy Boynton) and the two of them fly off to Vienna.
With much trepidation, Helga visits mother Traudi (Karin Bertling) and from their discussions, arguments and flashback sequences we can piece together the events that destroyed their relationship, and the horror of the secrets she has been hiding for more than five decades. When Emily also learns the truth, followed by the arrival of her mother Beth (Johdi May), family loyalties are fractured and roles challenged.
The film explores the nature of inter generational trauma, and questions how much we can be held responsible for the actions of our predecessors. Should children have to share their parents' guilt? Can trauma be inherited? And what damage is inflicted when the darkest of long held secrets are exposed to scrutiny?
It's a well plotted movie, with a gradual build up of the truth about the past. There are times when it lags, and better editing might easily have reduced the running time by ten minutes, but the storyline never fails to keep the attention, and there is much to think about when the lights come back up. All four of the leading women are excellent, Bertling standing out in her portrayal of the banality of evil.
Recommended.
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