In this epic film, von Donnersmarck sets himself a number of tasks that would sink lesser filmmakers in the first five minutes. The film is, on its face, the story of Gerhard Richter, a famous German artist, though his name is changed here to Kurt Barnert, and his search for an artistic identity as he struggles to overcome the tragedies that plague his life. But, as he follows Kurt from his boyhood to adulthood, he also explores the political turmoil and upheaval of Germany from the era of the Nazis when Kurt is young through the Communism of Russian rule to the divided Germany of 1960s. Beyond that, the entire film revolves around the age old question “What is art?” Each of the various political ideologies that Kurt lives under have their own ideas about what art is and what art should be and his journey through the years is to attempt to discover himself in everything from the “degenerate art” of the Nazi era to the post-modern “idea” based art of the Dusseldorf Art Academy. And, somehow, out of all these diverse elements, von Donnersmarck has crafted an absolute masterpiece. At three-hours-and-ten minutes, it’s film that’s still rushing and it never drags for even a second. To be honest, one of the only complaints I kind of have about the movie is that it needed MORE time for all this material. Sometimes it glosses over things that I wish it had spent more time on, like the tragic story of Kurt’s father, and sometimes this leads to abrupt, jarring tonal shifts. Late in the film, one of the movie’s most emotionally devastating scenes is followed immediately by a comedic montage and I have no idea what that was about. All in all, this story could have easily sustained a miniseries.
But, as it is, it’s fantastic. The performances are really wonderful across the board. Tom Schilling is great as Kurt; it’s a very minimal performance – he doesn’t reach for the audience’s sympathy or really act as if he’s the protagonist. Kurt is a reactionary character in a lot of ways. Sebastian Koch is absolutely brilliant as a sociopathic Nazi doctor who impacts Kurt’s life in a tragic way during World War II. There are also some really memorable supporting performances. Saskia Rosendahl is really, really excellent as Kurt’s mentally troubled aunt and Oliver Massuci as one of Kurt’s later art teachers has a really beautiful monologue in one knock-out scene. Caleb Deschanel was nominated for an Oscar for his cinematography, making this one of the rare foreign films to break out of the Foreign Film category and garner more nominations, and it’s incredibly deserved. This is a beautiful film and Max Richter’s hypnotic score is fantastic. Late in the film, there’s a nearly fifteen minute wordless sequence of Kurt working on his art, starting to get the idea that’s going to drive him to fame and success and it’s a nearly religious experience that scene. I think it’s the best representation of artistic inspiration I’ve ever seen on film.
One other brief note. I’ve heard a lot of people criticize one particular plot element of the film, so I want to kind of inoculate any potential viewers against that by telling you this. I won’t tell you what the plot point is, but I’ll tell you that it’s a nearly unbelievable coincidence that comes about an hour into the movie. I say “nearly” unbelievable because, as hard as it may be to swallow, it is, in fact, completely true to Richter’s life. Even some professionals, who should know better, have been bashing that plot point without, apparently, researching sufficiently to know that it’s true, so, you know, be prepared for that and be ready to accept it.
Man, this review got long, but then I guess so is the movie. But, for all its length, it’s a riveting, compelling film that is ultimately both emotionally moving and intellectually thought-provoking. Basically every review about this movie has had to make some sort of jokey reference to the title, so who am I to blow against the wind? Never Look Away is right. 4 stars.
tl;dr – epic film is a compelling personal drama, a sprawling historical piece and a philosophical exploration of the meaning of art; a brilliant masterpiece. 4 stars.