Lore: DVD Review

Lore: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Universal Home Entertainment

A hit at this past year's New Zealand International Film Festival, Lore is the story of a young girl coming of age at the end of World War II.

A haunting Saskia Rosendahl plays Lore, the teenage daughter of an SS officer and a Hitler supporting mother. As the film begins the war is ending and the Allies are sweeping across, arresting those who served under Hitler.

Lore's father is taken in and her mother demands she leave, taking her younger siblings with her to stay with their grandmother. But it's a 900km journey to Hamburg and Lore faces all manner of problems on the escape.

A coming of age story with a darker background, Lore is vibrantly coloured in a disconcerting and visually excellent way. From Lore's red locks to heightened colours in the world around her, there's plenty to focus on on screen as the film plays out. This is not a flick which begins with action, but there's tension all around as Lore makes her journey. Complicating things are a relationship with a teenage Jewish boy, which stirs mixed feelings of lust and hatred.

Sensitively handled, Lore is an unusual story, which has never really been told before. Anchored by a solid and empathetic performance from Rosendahl, there's a haunting and harrowing quality to the film and one which stays with you long after it's finished.

Extras: None

Rating: