“To Life” in Its Tattered Glory
By Skip Sheffield
No matter what is dealt you, life is worth living.
That is the upbeat message of “To Life” (L’Chaim), winner of
the Best German Film at the festival Filmball Vienna 2015.
“To Life” translates into German as “Auf das Leben,” but it
means the same in any language.
Since this is a German film (with English subtitles), the
spectre of Nazism is never far away. The heroine of the story, Ruth (Hannelore
Elsner) was born in Poland, where the Nazis rounded up Jews in 1939 to take
them off to concentration (death) camps. Ruth was just a child. Her mother, who
knew they were doomed, pushed Ruth from the truck, and she was forced to fend
for herself from then on.
A talented natural singer and musician, Ruth became a cabaret
star, even as Germans were making life unbearable for Jews.
“To Life” begins in early 1970s Berlin. Jonas (Max Riemelt)
has fled his wife and home. With no particular plan, he goes to Berlin and
takes a temporary job as a mover. His first assignment is moving the worldly
possessions of Ruth, who is being evicted from her apartment of 35 years. Jonas
immediately senses a kindred spirit in Ruth, who is old enough to be his
mother. Felling pity, he offers to take Ruth to her new government subsidized
quarters across town. Ruth asks him to deliver a mandolin she has made, and
pays him 250 Euros up front. Jonas tries to refuse the money, but Ruth is
insistent. The next day he returns to her apartment to give back the money.
There is no response at the door. Jonas knocks harder and harder and finally
breaks down the door. He discovers Ruth in her bathtub with the water tinged
with red. She has slashed her wrists in an apparent suicide attempt. Jonas
attempts CPR and rushes Ruth to an emergency room. She isn’t particularly
grateful Jonas has saved her life, calling herself a “suicide granny.”
Nevertheless in this parable of life by director Uwe Janson, a friendship is
forged. Ruth slowly lets Jonas into her past. her beloved Yiddish songs, and
the young man who abandoned her who looked just like Jonas.
“To Life” is a love story without sex and a suicide tale
without violence. It is a reminder that true friendships span generations and
political and religious beliefs.
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