Review: From Hilde, with Love
by Ola Salwa
- BERLINALE 2024: Wars can be fought with acts of love and kindness, and silence screams louder than bombs in Andreas Dresen’s deeply humanistic film
When two officials come to arrest Hilde (Liv Lisa Fries), at first, it’s difficult to tell what year it is. Swastikas are nowhere in sight, and no instances of “Heil Hitler” can be heard. So no, From Hilde, with Love [+see also:
trailer
interview: Andreas Dresen
film profile] by veteran German director Andreas Dresen – brilliantly written by Laila Stieler and based on the real story of the Red Orchestra, an anti-Nazi German resistance group – isn’t just another World War II period pic.
Competing for the Golden Bear at the 74th Berlinale, the film feels contemporary in how it shows the era (and how it doesn’t), and so does its deeply humanistic tone. The story follows the last few months in the life of Hilde Coppi, who is heavily pregnant when she’s put in jail; scenes of her ordeal in a Nazi prison are intertwined with memories of the last happy summer she spent with her newlywed husband Hans (Johannes Hegemann), and reveal why this woman, labelled such a “good girl” by her friends, joined the resistance group.
Initially, the movie feels modest and static, as the first few scenes take place in enclosed spaces, like an interrogation room or a small cottage where Hilde, Hans and their fellow conspirators meet, party and engage in illicit activities like sending messages in Morse code to the Soviets or listening to German-language radio broadcasts from Moscow. These feature German POWs who give their names and addresses, hoping that someone will hear them and let their families know that they’re alive. Hilde does indeed hear them and sends letters with the news, which turns out to be one of her biggest crimes against the Third Reich.
Soon, it becomes clear that subtlety, modesty and quiet determination are inherent in both Hilde’s character and the tone of Dresen’s oeuvre. It’s a war film where not a single bullet is fired, but it talks more about courage than many battle-heavy spectacles. Bravery here means simple acts, such as Hilde urging an inmate not to give up hope, the discreet kindness of a strict guard, Frau Kuhn, or a random woman on the tram who hides an anti-Nazi leaflet under her seat. This is how many women fought the war: in a very unspectacular, but no less important, way.
Following this struggle is a deeply moving and inspiring experience. Much of that is thanks to the alluring Fries, who perfectly embodies a type of everyday heroine who keeps a lot to herself but does the right thing. She seems fragile, but turns out to be firm and unbreakable, a refreshing character that doesn’t need to be flashy, visible or attention-seeking. The actress conveys a great deal through her body, thus making her character even more captivating.
The flashbacks from Hilde’s pre-jail life that continue throughout the film are shown not in chronological order, but rather in a psychological one, which makes the story more complex, shimmering with different emotional tones, and plummeting from enchantment and hope to dread and loss. From Hilde, with Love is built up with details, glances, and a discreet yet unwavering yearning for love or any other form of human connection, which, as Dresen’s film clearly states, can make anyone do anything. As Polish poet Tadeusz Różewicz, a Holocaust survivor, wrote: “Remember that silence speaks volumes, that hatred screams, roars, barks and howls. Love smiles, is silent, waiting for you.”
From Hilde, with Love was produced by Germany’s Pandora Filmproduktion, RBB, Kinoinitiative Leuchtstoff, ARTE GEIE, Ziegler Film Berlin and Iskremas Filmproduktion. Beta Cinema handles its world sales.
Photogallery 17/02/2024: Berlinale 2024 - From Hilde, with Love
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© 2024 Dario Caruso for Cineuropa - dario-caruso.fr, @studio.photo.dar, Dario Caruso
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