No Man's Land - The Aftermath

Hamburg in 1946: British Lieutenant Colonel Lewis Morgan (Jason Clarke) is posted to Germany to help rebuild the bombed-out city. He and his wife Rachael (Keira Knightley) are placed in the stately home of German widower Stephan Lubert (Alexander Skarsgård). Lewis allows the man and his daughter to stay in the attic of his dispossessed home. He sees no point in sending more people homeless into the streets during the cold winter. Rachael is less than enthusiastic about this, seeing in the Germans first and foremost, despite the end of the war, the enemy who caused so much suffering - including very personal suffering for her and her husband. But as she gets to know Stephan a little better, her hostility and grief turn into unexpected passion.

Niemandsland - The Aftermath is the second feature film from director James Kent, who has mainly directed various TV series episodes and television movies. After his first feature film was set in World War I, it is now about a dramatic love story shortly after World War II. Based on the novel No Man's Land by Rhidian Brook, the film tells a story with a lot of emotional potential. But somehow Kent never really manages to let this develop fully. Granted, there is definitely some sizzle between Keira Knightley and Alexander Skarsgård, but despite some genuinely moving moments, the characters remain too one-dimensional for the audience to really empathize with them.

The problem with the film is that it is too predictable. While there is a certain amount of falling for the characters, it never feels like there is ever any real danger for them. Although the story provides it, Kent's production avoids all rough edges. As a result, the film is too well-behaved and too conventional to actually hit its audience right in the heart. Of course, this takes away a lot of the drama's power. However, this doesn't make the film really bad. It still has some very strong moments and good actors to offer, who can still tear out some things at the end.

But it is just a pity that No Man's Land - The Aftermath can never blossom to full size, but always runs on the back burner. Atmospherically well executed, convincingly acted, but dramaturgically too conventional, this post-war romantic drama is, on balance, still: worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp