| Personal freedom is a right those of us living in nominal democracies often take for granted, but from time to time a film like Aimée & Jaguar can force us to take account of our privileges.
A historical melodrama set in 1940s Berlin, this film shows the genocidal consequences of mass complicity with extreme intolerance, but it does so within the decidedly personal confines of a love triangle between three women. One, Felice (Maria Schrader), is active in the Jewish resistance; another is a German hausfrau (Juliane Köhler); and the third (Heike Makatsch) is effectively the catalyst, who inadvertently brings them together.
Odd, perhaps, to make a film about a lesbian love story set against the backdrop of the fall of the Third Reich near the end of the Second World War. One can’t help feel that as a romantic tragedy it is much too obvious in its execution, and as a film about the Holocaust it glosses over a good deal of pertinent information (such as the fact that Hitler’s "ethnic cleansing" targeted homosexuals as well as Jews).
The film bears some weight, but in the end is more concerned with the potentially selfish and self-destructive aspects of love than it is with the conflict between intolerance and inclusion.
As the relationship between our heroines plays out, the point is made that freedom must be nurtured, cherished and protected, even in a just society. Of course, the society depicted here hardly idealizes equality, and the women face adversity not just from the greater community but also from each other as they learn to trust one another in a distinctly untrustworthy environment. Their happiness is much too brief, and then the film shifts its focus to delineate the personal toll that the Holocaust exacted on the German people.
With framing narration that looks back on the relationship from the present day, the film ultimately reveals its true concern – the enormous guilt that many Germans who lived through the Holocaust bear with them. It’s an interesting chronicle of deep regret that doesn’t fail to move its audience, but its methods, it must be said, are slightly hackneyed and predictable. As a tear-jerker, the film could tug at the ducts a little less fervently and still maintain its desired effect. |
