While Joseph Goebbels infamously declared Berlin “free of Jews” in 1943, 1,700 managed to survive in the Nazi capital through the end of WWII. The Invisibles traces the stories of four young people who learned to hide in plain sight.
Hanni Lévy. Ruth Arndt. Cioma Schönhaus. Eugen Friede. Four Jewish people among the 1,700 in Berlin who managed to evade the Nazis in plain sight during WWII. Claus Räfle’s “The Invisibles” diligently follows the heart-piercing stories of these people’s fascinating plight – yet, despite the unconventional approach, this half-documentary, half-narrative drama, doesn’t quite excel on either account.
The stories themselves are compelling enough to sustain the almost-two-hour running time. Whether it’s Hanni (Alice Dwyer) finding temporary respite in the darkness of a movie theater, or Ruth (Ruby O. Fee) working for a Nazi leader, or Cioma (Max Mauff) forging passports, or Eugen (Aaron Altaras) joining a resistance movement – it’s the anecdotes, straight out of the narrators’ mouths, that resonate the most.
They recollect their complete loss of identity, being unwanted, terrified that someone would recognize and betray them, hiding wherever they could and relying on peoples kindness and bravery to take them in. “One must learn to walk and talk like everyone else,” one of the survivors remembers constantly thinking. “I mustn’t appear nervous.”
The documentary and archival footage jarringly clashes with the somewhat-artificial, perfunctory reenactments – and don’t get me going on the explanatory title cards, announcing what happened next. I applaud the stab at narrative audacity, but the tension ends up being vacuumed out of both storytelling structures.
Heartfelt but a bit too on-the-nose, “The Invisibles” ultimately doesn’t say anything new, poignantly reiterating the Horrors of War. There’s nothing technically wrong with either the direction or the performances – but nothing outstanding either, and the choice of presentation is misguided. Extra points for effort then, but you’ll be better off rewatching “Schindler’s List” instead.
Now playing in select theaters
