THE INVISIBLES (2017) – Review

From the rich historical archives of WWII comes another true tale of struggle and survival, when Hitler and his cronies enacted the”Final Solution”. So what makes this film special? Well, it was produced and filmed in Germany and mixes real footage with actual interviews of the people who lived the story. The biggest twist is that it doesn’t focus on families fleeing the country and blending in or going “underground” in those nearby foreign lands. This is about the Jews who would not leave their homeland, risking their lives to “hide in plain sight” (sometimes even venturing from the closets and attics to walk the streets). Another unique aspect of this film is that it’s almost an anthology, splitting the narrative amongst a quartet of youths barely past their teens. It is set in Berlin, so some of the principals often run into the same people, though the main four never meet. Aside from the city, they do share that common goal: anonymity. Because in order to “wait out the war”, they must become THE INVISIBLES.

It begins in early 1943 as the Reich is shipping out all the “undesirables”. The first of the four we meet is Cioma Schonhaus (Max Mauff) who uses his art skills to become an expert forger. While his parents board the trains for the camps in the East, he modifies his papers in order to be labeled an essential worker at the local munitions factory. Later he is recruited to be the Jewish underground as a “passport doctor”, saving the lives of hundreds while having to be constantly on the move. The next “invisible’ is fun-loving teenager Ruth Arndt (Ruby O. Fee), who spends much of her time dancing to banned American swing music in a cramped room (she can’t risk going to a dance hall). She tries to stay with her family, but as the days drag on, they are forced to separate. Eventually, she pairs up with cousin Ellen (Victoria Schulz), playing the part of “war widows” until they get jobs as housekeepers for a high-ranking German officer. Another young woman, Hanni Levy (Alice Dwyer) has no family but is deemed temporarily essential for her work sewing parachutes. Eventually, she must go on the run, flitting from one sympathetic apartment owner to the next. To blend in, Hanni has her hair dyed blonde and changes her name. Finally, there’s the journey of Eugen Friede (Aaron Altaras), who feels safe in his parents’ home (his stepfather is not Jewish, so they aren’t harassed), until the authorities come after him. He stays with an affluent Communist family, but they must send him off to another household where he must don the garb of a “Hitlerjugend”. In his last days on the run, Eugen stays with resistance fighter Hans Winkler and aids the efforts of the resistance group Community for Peace and Development alongside camp escapee Werner Scharff (Florian Lucas). As the Allied forces bomb Germany into submission, can the quartet make it safely out of the rubble that was their land and convince the incoming Russian troops of their innocence?

One could say that these are fairly familiar stories, but the taut direction and pacing by Claus Ralfe (who also worked on the screenplay with Alejandra Lopez) gives it an intimate contemporary feel. This is also accomplished via the remarkable black and white footage from the time period used to bridge sequences and establish locales. We see German citizens from the period, not dodging bombs, but strolling down the street, window-shopping just like city dwellers in New York, Chicago, or London. Plus Ralfe knows just when to drop in some of the remarkable interviews with the real “invisibles” shot over the last couple of decades. Their portrayers (or are they re-enactors) give solid, compelling performances. Mauff embodies the confidence and cluelessness of youth, as he goes forward in his plans not fully realizes that he’s in “way over his head”. On the flip side, Dwyer brings a haunted, lonely quality to directionless Hanni, as she somehow floats past danger as in a fog. As for those who intersect with the quartet. Lukas is full of righteous bravado as the aggressive Scharff. His opposite is the slinky Laila Maria Witt as Stella Goldschlag, a Jewish collaborator who nearly exposes Ruth and Ellen, but has an unexpected change of heart and spares Cioma. Her story, full of deceit and conflict, might make for an interesting film, too. Hopefully, it would have the same superb art direction, costuming, and hairstyles as this one, skillfully dropping us right into the mid-’40s. All those involved with this powerful drama make THE INVISIBLES well worth a look.

4 Out of 5

THE INVISIBLES opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas