THE AFTERMATH (2019)
Post World War II, a British colonel and his wife are assigned to live in Hamburg during the post-war reconstruction, but tensions arise with the German who previously owned the house.—
THE AFTERMATH is an adequate drama/romance. There is nothing really unique in it and the ending is entirely predictable. But it is well made and the cast put in enough effort to make it watchable. The best actor is Alexander Skarsgård who plays the widowed German who has had his house commissioned by the British army for one of their officers (played by Jason Clarke) and his wife played by (Kiera Knightly). The cinematography is very well done, especially the shots of the Hamburg after the dropping of the bombs that destroyed it. There is one image that has stayed with me — a mother brushing her daughter’s hair in a house where the front has disappeared. Watch out for it in the early part of the movie. The best part of the story is the exploration of the impact on the people who have been left behind in the city trying desperately to work out how they are going to move forward. There are some significant moral complexities explored but sadly not with enough depth. It’s an attractive, tasteful film that will appeal to those who like a well-presented but undemanding period piece.
