Never Look Away

This saga covers around 20 years in the lives of several Germans, from just before World War II to the mid 60s, as the country moves from Nazi rule to a nation divided between socialism and capitalism, and about a young artist as he develops his skills, finds a lover and finally makes his place in the world. This does have the feel of an old-fashioned romantic epic (in particular in the phases of the young lovers), with a running time over three hours, while also asking bigger questions about Germany’s political past and the way secrets were covered up. The last third, where the art questions come to the surface, suffers a bit in that there’s a meandering montage of modern art that doesn’t entirely take the work seriously and seems like a distraction from the main themes of the film, before those plot elements re-emerge. There’s some strong performances in here, particularly Sebastian Koch as the most malign character in the film. It does share some themes with “Cold War” which showed earlier in the year, including jumping over years, but I found the characters in this one less arbitrarily leaping from moment to moment and with greater depth. It’s certainly a dense film and while it’s not always entirely successful, it’s got enough value to be worth immersing yourself in.