Sur les traces du passé

Once in a while, the TV shows some real human experience, which deserves to be labeled as the best that movie dramas can offer. And it’s clear that the main focus here will be on the story. In this case, the story again involves the Second World War. Not that it takes place in it. Rather, it ends one unfinished chapter. The camera will thus very quickly transport you from Germany to tumultuous Ukraine, which is kind of living its own separate life and kickstarts the story of the character which is so brilliantly portrayed by Jürgen Prochnow. It shows us human nature, both its good and bad aspects. It compares nationalities, lives before and after the war. It compares what was then and what is now, it observes the absurdity of borders and it tries to answer a number of unanswered family questions. All of that in the span of 107 minutes, which this film has at its disposal. A movie full of good people and people who simply are the way they are. Neither bad nor good, simply unique. Subject to the time, a given state, a given life in a given time. Simply a story of a former Wehrmacht officer who, coincidentally, became a member of the Ukrainian Kozaks. You will find out what happened next in this beautiful and unique life story. (11/10/2018)