h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Today's film tip, again, is not a freebie. Elektra did a really thorough search, but no joy. If you have Amazon Prime, you can see it there. US Netflix viewers can find it under 'Foreign Films'. And I'll show you a trailer in a minute.

After the response to my last suggestion, I'm a bit reluctant to recommend movies that are less than 80 years old. After all, if I recommend them, I think they have some merit. But just in case somebody else would like this one, too, I'm going to go ahead. I've already recommended this film to colleagues who do history lessons - it has everything a history teacher could want to teach students about how to do historical research: documentation, argumentation, placing events in context, and etc. Nonetheless, it's far from boring. It's an edge-of-your-seat human mystery story.

The film I'm talking about is Arnon Goldfinger's 'The Flat'. Goldfinger lives in Tel Aviv. The film's in English, German, and Hebrew, with appropriate subtitles. Here's the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prVCtWI2PjM


The genesis of the film, apparently, was that Goldfinger wanted to document his family's cleanup of his late grandmother's apartment. She'd lived there for about 70 years, and she was 98 when she died. As Goldfinger said, her flat was a little piece of 1930s Berlin, right in Tel Aviv. He didn't know German, and his grandmother didn't like to speak Hebrew, so they conversed in English.

The film begins with the funny things you find in your grandparents' attic: a top hat, gross fox furs, stuff like that. But then the descendants find something surprising: copies of a Nazi periodical called 'Der Angriff'. With an article that mentions the grandparents. It seems they served as guides for the author of the series 'A Nazi Goes to Palestine'. What was this all about? And who were those people in the family photo album? Above all, what really happened to Arnon's great-grandmother? He goes on a journey that takes him to Wuppertal and Berlin.

The answers will surprise you. The story isn't about praise or blame. It's about people, and memory, and why it takes the third generation to ask the questions. Goldfinger's a great interviewer. He's warm and sympathetic.

One piece of evidence they find is a Berlin Stolperstein to Arnon's great-aunt. You remember Stolpersteine? Malabarista told us about them: A57720440 In the end, they decide they might sponsor one of their own.

It seems to me that Arnon Goldfinger brought a great deal of empathy to his project. He is careful of his subjects' feelings. He is not quick to judge. And I think he's brought out a few truths that are not often apparent in the search for historical accuracy. The 'talking heads' aspect is minimal, but the professionals Goldfinger consults have some excellent points to make about the psychology of the individual caught up in the sweep of history.

I recommend the film. If you've got a spare hour and a half, give it a go. And if you like it, too, pass the word.

Thanks for listening.

Well, this is something indeed! Intense subject matter.

I like the way you word your write-up.

'The answers will surprise you. The story isn't about praise or blame. It's about people, and memory, and why it takes the third generation to ask the questions.'

Good sentence that, I need sentences like this if I'm going to embark on a film of this nature. Helps me to understand. Thanks!

Welcome.

It sounds very interesting. I'm making a mental note to watch it if I get the chance.