‘From Hilde, With Love’ Review: Andreas Dresen Returns With an Affecting Romance Set in 1942 Germany
variety.comCatherine Bray Two years after their Berlinale prizewinner “Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush,” veteran German director Andreas Dresen and his regular screenwriter Laila Stieler reteam for the moving drama “From Hilde, With Love.” Drawing on the compelling real-life case of the Hilde and Hans Coppi, a young married couple arrested and executed for treason by the Gestapo in wartime Berlin, the film cross-cuts between an idyllic summer romance and much darker later events.
While the couple’s relationship is necessarily a crucial part of the story, the focus is on Hilde, who was imprisoned while eight months pregnant, had her baby in prison, and faced the guillotine a short time later.
It’s an emotionally relentless sequence of events which naturally provides a touching role for Liv Lisa Fries, who gives a subtle but layered performance.
Dresen and Stieler make a number of smart choices. Most of the Nazis here are not the hulking brutes generally portrayed by Hollywood.
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