The movie “The Woman in Gold” depicts the most important theme all should be aware of – the significance of memory and non-monetary inheritance to human life. Maria Altmann, born to a well-off Jewish family residing in Vienna, barely escaped the invasion of Nazis months before Hitler grabbed control of the German Army. She, together with her husband left her parents with their blessing, but their separation was a moment that she couldn’t leave behind. Stolen from their home, the painting now named “The Woman in Gold” is now the center of the significant museum in Vienna – Belvedere Museum. The portrait is alleged as Austria’s Mona Lisa and has an estimated value of over a hundred million dollars. Maria wishes to reclaim the painting, not for …show more content…
the monetary unit of it, but because of the memory of her Aunt Adele. Adele urged Maria not to be timid and left her with words to linger as she faces life’s obstacles – “Your only enemy is fear”. This lead Maria to go back to Austria to repossess the painting, though she had been strong-minded to never return. On the 13th minute of the film, the topic about Art Restitution has been discussed. Art Restitution is the task of returning the numerous works of art seized by the National Socialists in Austria to their lawful owners rested upon the Second Republic. (Art Restitution). With the help of Randy Schoenberg, a lawyer and a descendant of a prominent Jewish family in Vienna, Maria was decided that he will be the right one to defend the case. According to the movie, Maria specified that not all Austrians are against the invasion of the Nazis, some were even pleased about it. This paper focuses on Maria’s journey to reclaim her family’s possessions seized by the Nazis, among them was what others see as a portrait of a woman in gold, but to her is a portrait of her aunt.
During the Restitution Conference held in Austria, Maria stated: “When people see the famous portrait, they see a masterpiece by one of Austria’s finest artists. But I see a picture of my aunt, a woman who talked to me about life while I brushed her hair in her bedroom. Restitution. You see, that’s an interesting word. Restitution: the return of something to its original state. Now that made me think. You know I love to return to my original state. I would love to be a happy woman living in this beautiful city. Like so many of my generation, we had to flee, I will never forgive them for preventing me from living here. At the very least, we should be reunited with what is rightfully ours.” (Curtis). The same year as Maria’s sister’s death, 44 countries, including Austria signed the Washington Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art. The Austrian Parliament passed its own law requiring museums to allow researchers to explore their archives in order to have plundered items returned to their lawful owners. (McDowall). With the help of the Supreme Court of the U.S., Maria was able to sue the Austrian government.
Up until today, the restitution case provides lessons about the way Austrians are still treated. The illegal taking of the owners’ art collections was a rigorous effort whose importance
…show more content…
should never be forgotten. More importantly this misfortune robs the dignities of those who survived in line with remembering their families’ experiences. Legally speaking, the case of Maria Altmann is unique, because it invokes the “expropriation exception” of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. The film is merely about the painting seized by the Nazis, rather it is about the emotional connection with paintings that were hanging on the Bloch-Bauer’s destroyed home. The Restitution Act helped not only Maria’s case but all Austrian’s that have been wanting to reclaim what was lawfully theirs. At the end, no matter what, justice will always prevail. With the proper application of cinematography, the movie properly focused on the more intimate historical and judicial aspects of Austria.
The tolerance in the graphic splendor of the street scenes of Vienna, interiors, and architectural aspects provide a good distraction form some dull minutes of the film, where in fact they could have used better scripts. The use of lights and shadows (Sepia and Black and White) helped in the flashback instants the film exposed, it resembled early years suitably. Some of the common shots used were: Arc shots – where the camera man focused and circled on Maria’s wedding day, laughter and love felt within her family and friends were caught on camera. Bridging shot – where the film focused on the view of Austria when the plane rode by Maria and Randi begun landing, thus depicting Maria’s anxiousness in coming back home. The cinematographer also used deep focus camera shot to emphasize the invasion of the Nazis and how homes in Austria were destroyed and humans were insulted. Lock down shot was also used, it focused on the emotional seconds of the movie, where the camera focused on Maria’s family while their home and belongings were being
apprehended. But most importantly, close up shots were used in the movie, this shot is considered to be an important building block in cinematic storytelling. This shot revealed the characters’ emotions, mood and motivation. This helped the viewers to know the important parts of the movie. Some scenes include the emotions shown by Maria’s parents when she had to leave Austria, the sadness felt when Maria’s sister passed away, the enthusiasm that motivated Maria and Randi when they found the non-binding will of Adele, and so on. Music helps in heightening emotions in a film. Increasing the sound, intensifies the portions of the film that gives the viewers thrill of what is going to happen, the usage of this tactic suited best when Maria and her husband escaped the soldier that was guarding them, up until their escape succeeded. Decreasing the sound on the other hand, gives the viewers a soothing impression of the lay low instants of the film. Studies show that the use of compound and unsettled melodies is a tactic used by composers to intensify tension within a scene, humans logically become anxious when hearing dissonant harmonies. Overall, the film portrayed solid cinematography, together with great performances of all the casts. It was a great movie that depicted that there are still people that value non-monetary inheritances. This movie gives a valuable lesson in line with religion, family, and justice.
The museum prior to 1990 was teetering on the brink of disaster. Attendance had declined and in January of 1989 the museum for the first time ever had to start charging admission. The 7 member board of trustees was unwilling to ask for donations for the museum, as they felt it was tantamount to begging. Isabella’s once very large and generous inheritance had dwindled significantly and there was no means as to how to generate income to keep the museum alive, a museum that was probably set to be auctioned off within a
This film captures this class distinction without subduing the atmosphere through the use of a variety of cinematic devices. “A good film is not a bag of cinematic devices but the embodiment, through devices, of a vision, an underlying theme” (Barnett, 274). The audience can see this theme of the realities of the oppression, poverty and despair of this time period through the use of the things mentioned, but also through the character development that is driven by the character’s hopelessness. Each of the characters associated with the lower class is motivated by the conditions, which are viewed through the cinematic devices mentioned above: color, spherical lenses, long shots, and high angle shots. Sources Cited:.
soldiers during the Jewish Holocaust, knew that the Nazi’s actions were inhumane and cruel; hence, he commanded his soldiers to not confiscate property from the Jews. Although the Nazi soldiers did not take valuables away from the Jews, they still dehumanized and exterminated the Jews, rega...
Merryman, John Henry. Thinking about the Elgin Marbles: Critical Essays on Cultural Property, Art, and Law. London: Kluwer Law International Ltd, 2000.
In the film it is stated that during World War II the Nazi party started to forcefully collect artworks from all around Europe in 1939. The term forcefully collect is better described as stealing. Hitler wanted these artworks to add to his personal collection. This became his hobby. His hobby took to others in the regime and eventually all high ranking officers were looting paintings for the sport of it. As it progressed collecting art became a required hobby for them.
However, I feel this act forces archeologists to halt further investigations and possibly damages lost records of history. Returning these artifacts and bones prevents them from being preserved a...
The type of shots has an important role in the understanding of Joan’s victimization. Medium close-ups and close-ups are used through out the film, creating a scary intimacy between Joan and the judges. In The Passion of Joan of Arc, Dreyer uses close-ups to show that Joan is struggling against forces much larger than herself. “Dreyer uses strange and distorted medium shots, emphasizing the aesthetic tension between a frightened and disoriented Joan, and of her cruel and mocking tormentors. ” This distortion creates pity and fear in the viewer. Also, the close-ups make us fully focus on the story and Joan’s emotion since the set, props or anything else that could appear in a long shot cannot distract the viewer. In addition, Dreyer shot torture instruments with a close-up. By giving us the chance to see the instruments closely, we become fearful and feel sympathy for Joan. Again, this emphasise, the clergy’s
Jeanne Wakatuski is a young girl who had to endure a rough childhood. She thought herself American, with a Japanese descent. However, with WWII and the internment camps, Jeanne struggled to in understanding who she really was. It started with Manzanar, at first she knew herself as a Japanese American. Living in Manzanar gave her a new perspective, “It (Manzanar) gradually filled me with shame for being a person, guilty of something enormous enough to deserve that kind of treatment” (Houston and Houston 161). Jeanne faced the problem of being someone who was not wanted or liked in the American society. A good section that shows the discrimination at the time was when Jeanne tried to join the Girl Scouts, which is on page 144. She was turned
For years on end, countries have been fighting with big museums from other countries for ancient artifacts that belong to the original countries. The argument of whether or not the museums should be able to keep them still remains. It is the right of the country to have their own artifacts. It is imperative for countries to be able showcase their historical artifacts, therefor museums should return them to their rightful owners.
Today, Mona Lisa is stored within the Louvre museum in France for public viewing. No matter the lucky visitors who have a chance to glance at Mona Lisa, or fans who enjoy themselves so much as to forget to leave, people will be attracted by her unique charm without exception. Legend says, staring at this picture, we will produce the Mona Lisa syndrome proposed by an Italian art historian Vezzosi Alessandro, referring to intoxicate from Mona Lisa’s smile, and her smile also becomes more and more mysterious. Countless mysteries hide in Mona Lisa. Although there are many people have made a research on her, it is now still murky.
At first glance, Western society appears to have changed significantly since the nineteenth-century. Today, industrialized nations enjoy more efficient transportation, communication, medical care, and manufacturing than they did in the nineteenth-century. But have our core values changed? While the Western world has changed considerably, people's opinions of the core values and morality is well-preserved since the nineteenth-century. This assertion becomes apparent when one compares the standards by which Western society judges what is considered artwork. While today's definition and criteria of censorship in a Western art museum is unchanged since the nineteenth-century, the act of censorship has changed with museums and their role in society.
The setting of the house where Josef and Marie lived was a very good example of what most non-Jewish people would live in. It was small, but cosy just enough for two people. It also included a pantry which was turned into a shelter for David. Not many shots were taken out of the house and that ones that were taken of the street told the audience a lot, especially during the resistance. That scene showed people blowing up houses where collaborators lived, breaking glass windows, and running around the street chaotic. The cinematic techniques added much emotion to the story created on screen. Everytime there was a very important section or Nazis knocking on Josef's door, the cameras seemed to be slowing down just a little bit, as if to tell the audience "Okay, now it's the time to pay attention." Throughout the film, Hrebejk knew where to put the cameras in order to get the best take of a scene, which enhanced the view of watching the movie and added suspence to it.
"The Nuremberg Laws: Background & Overview." Jewish Virtual Library. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. .
... people that protect the artwork that cannot be replaced. “An art thief robbed the Dutch museum of arts so easily he filed to sue the museum for it being so easy to rob.”(Art thief threatens to sue) That should never happen to any museum that the very thief who robbed them sues them.
The Mona Lisa could mean so many things and is surrounded by speculation, which is why she is famous and why she is valued art. Not only has the reason why the Mona Lisa is valued changed over time but, the Mona Lisa herself changed dramatically over the three years of her conception. Change and the ability to change -- the ability to be perceived differently at different times enables a piece of artwork to be timeless. Intention is a valuable part of art work; not only the artist intention but, the observers intention when they are observing the art