Lore is an intense drama involving a period of post-WW II German society that is rarely if ever examined and to do it, as this film does, from the viewpoint of German children caught up in these tragic days is worth a visit just out of curiosity. However, this film does not just take a dispassionate look from the viewpoint of historian's or news print, rather because of the wonderful direction of Cate Shortland, this movie moves completely away from ordinary story telling into the far less examined area of psychological change.
Superficially this story is about a family of young children who are forced because of Germany's WW II defeat to make their way from the Black Forrest to their grandmother's home near Hamburg in northern Germany. The story concerns the time before that long journey, the incidents of that journey and finally their arrival at their grandmother's home. Sounds simple and straight forward but the devil, as they say is in the details, or rather the story.
As the story unfolds while the children attempt to reach the grandmother's home, the viewer explores through the eldest, who leads this group, many of the consequences of her past history as a child growing in this family with all the mental baggage implied by this maturation. The drama is carried by this eldest child, Saskia Rosendahl, to whom many of the film's incidents occur.
Moviegoers might be struck by the close-ups used by the director; most of the movie's shots are taken at that range and viewers may not like the method. It contributes to an extremely distinct film, along with the story as well as Rosendahl's superb acting, which must affect the viewer and this after all is why we attend movies to begin.
