In the summer of 1943, in the space of a few days, more bombs were dropped on the city of Hamburg than were dropped on London through the whole of the Blitz. The effect was greater than that of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. In "The Aftermath" we are in the city two years later when the war is over and the story is set with the city's devastation as its backdrop. But we soon learn, if we didn't know it already, that war destroys more than buildings and people - it can enter the souls of those who experience it and affect the rest of their lives.
Colonel Lewis Morgan (Jason Clarke) and his wife Rachael (Keira Knightly) are in Hamburg where the Colonel is part of the British Army of occupation tasked with beginning the clearing up of the mess that is the city. They are billeted in the elegant and miraculously undamaged home of wealthy architect Stephen Lubert (Alexander Skarsgård) and his teenage daughter Freda (Flora Thiemann). They are allowed to remain in the house providing they stick to their quarters away from the Morgans. We learn that Lubert and the Morgans have something in common. Lubert lost his wife in the 1943 bombing of Hamburg and the English couple lost their eleven year old son to German bombing in the Blitz. The loss of their child seems to have destroyed the Morgans' relationship which is tense and cold/ Luber and his daughter are similarly somewhat withdrawn and melancholic. The bitterness Freda feels leads her to a relationship with a boy who is a member of the neo Nazi resistance.
"The Aftermath" recreates the devastation of war very effectively. The destroyed buildings, the starving citizens and the near impossibility of returning swiftly to any sort of normality are shown. But the emotional damage on both sides is skilfully shown as well. There is initially hatred from Rachael towards Lubert and a similar loathing from Freda towards her, though this is portrayed in a measured way. But gradually there is a thaw. Lubert is cleared of any inappropriate war involvement - he was not a Nazi and it is clear that Morgan has respect for him. And, crucially, we also see Lubert and Rachael becoming close culminating in a passionate relationship consummated, in particular, when Morgan is away from Hamburg for six days.
The love affair changes Rachael and she begins to smile again - for the first time since the loss of her child. Lubert asks her to leave Morgan and go away with him - and she agrees. How this plays out is the moving culmination of the film. Meanwhile Morgan's soldiers clash with the resistance who planned an attack in which Morgan's chauffeur is killed. Freda's boyfriend dies in the battle.
War films can be widescreen epics or smaller scale personal story driven movies. Rather like the analogous "The Third Man" (set in post war Vienna) this is a small but powerful micro story in which the horrors of war are told by the interplay of one or two characters. Lewis Morgan is a sympathetic portrayal but without any overt wearing of his heart on his sleeve. He has a job to do, and he does it. Stephen Lubert is somewhat aloof and cautious, his daughter angry. Rachael Morgan is sad and reserved. There is an emotional deadlock which has to be broken and the affair does this dramatically. The principals are very good and if anything they underact rather than radiating faux-emotion.
Colonel Lewis Morgan (Jason Clarke) and his wife Rachael (Keira Knightly) are in Hamburg where the Colonel is part of the British Army of occupation tasked with beginning the clearing up of the mess that is the city. They are billeted in the elegant and miraculously undamaged home of wealthy architect Stephen Lubert (Alexander Skarsgård) and his teenage daughter Freda (Flora Thiemann). They are allowed to remain in the house providing they stick to their quarters away from the Morgans. We learn that Lubert and the Morgans have something in common. Lubert lost his wife in the 1943 bombing of Hamburg and the English couple lost their eleven year old son to German bombing in the Blitz. The loss of their child seems to have destroyed the Morgans' relationship which is tense and cold/ Luber and his daughter are similarly somewhat withdrawn and melancholic. The bitterness Freda feels leads her to a relationship with a boy who is a member of the neo Nazi resistance.
"The Aftermath" recreates the devastation of war very effectively. The destroyed buildings, the starving citizens and the near impossibility of returning swiftly to any sort of normality are shown. But the emotional damage on both sides is skilfully shown as well. There is initially hatred from Rachael towards Lubert and a similar loathing from Freda towards her, though this is portrayed in a measured way. But gradually there is a thaw. Lubert is cleared of any inappropriate war involvement - he was not a Nazi and it is clear that Morgan has respect for him. And, crucially, we also see Lubert and Rachael becoming close culminating in a passionate relationship consummated, in particular, when Morgan is away from Hamburg for six days.
The love affair changes Rachael and she begins to smile again - for the first time since the loss of her child. Lubert asks her to leave Morgan and go away with him - and she agrees. How this plays out is the moving culmination of the film. Meanwhile Morgan's soldiers clash with the resistance who planned an attack in which Morgan's chauffeur is killed. Freda's boyfriend dies in the battle.
War films can be widescreen epics or smaller scale personal story driven movies. Rather like the analogous "The Third Man" (set in post war Vienna) this is a small but powerful micro story in which the horrors of war are told by the interplay of one or two characters. Lewis Morgan is a sympathetic portrayal but without any overt wearing of his heart on his sleeve. He has a job to do, and he does it. Stephen Lubert is somewhat aloof and cautious, his daughter angry. Rachael Morgan is sad and reserved. There is an emotional deadlock which has to be broken and the affair does this dramatically. The principals are very good and if anything they underact rather than radiating faux-emotion.