2 September 2016.
STEFAN ZWEIG – ADIEU L’EUROPE ***1/2 (vo German, French, etc.)
There are films that stay in your heart and mind. Because of their subject, the beauty of the cinematography, the acting, but above all because they both enlighten and touch you deeply. And often because they reflect what is happening today.
This biopic of the great Austrian writer is such a one, aesthetically filmed and showing the crucial moments at the end of Zweig’s life from 1936 in Brazil to Argentina and New York, when he was a celebrated though wandering refugee, along with his young wife, away from his beloved homelands of Austria and Germany.
Maria Schrader, a German actress and director, has managed to bring to life the greatness and tragedy of one of Europe’s most revered writers. Being Jewish and feeling the onslaught of Nazism, Zweig left Europe for South America, where he was received everywhere as a celebrity. But the politics of the era weighed upon his morale and his will to live. This is his story, told with great style and compassion.
Superb **** Very Good *** Good ** Mediocre * Miserable – no stars
By Neptune
Neptune Ravar Ingwersen reviews film extensively for publications in Switzerland. She views 4 to 8 films a week and her aim is to sort the wheat from the chaff for readers.
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