The Aftermath 2019

     The setting of this film is postwar 1946 after the surrender of Germany and it is based on a book by Rhidian Brook.  Rachael Morgan arrives in the ruined city of Hamburg in the bitter winter to reunite with her husband Lewis Morgan.  Lewis is a British colonel and his assignment is to rebuild this shattered city.  Rachael is surprised to learn they will be sharing a grand house with its previous German owners?  Stephen Lubert is a widower with a rebellious daughter Freda.  Rachael doesn’t know how she can handle the stressful atmosphere in this house?  Stephen and Freda must resent the Morgan’s because Germany lost the war and now their own home has been invaded??  Emotions and tensions are high inside the home and it also fills the city after six years of war.    

     Rachael is suffering from intense grief from the loss of their only son Michael in the war.  He was killed during the Blitz by German bombing.  She blames herself for not being able to protect her son as his mother.  There is tension between Rachael and Lewis because what has happened to them.  Lewis can release his grief though his work with the German people but Rachael doesn’t have this outlet.  They don’t talk or discuss what happened either.  There is a LOT going on in this film with the insurgent activities in Hamburg and the stress in this home.  4* (I really liked this movie) 

108 min, Drama directed by James Kent with Keira Knightley, Ned Wills, Pandora Colin, Jason Clarke, Anna Katharina Schimrigk, Jack Laskey, Fionn O’Shea, Kate Phillips, Martin Compston, Alexander Skarsgard, Mirco Kuball, Rosa Enskat, Frederick Preston, Flora Thiemann.

Note:  Imdb 6.3 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 27% critic 60% audience, Roger Ebert 2* Peter Sobczynski, Metacritic 43 out of 100 with 33 critics 5.7 out of 10 user scores with 15 reviews (7 positive, 5 mixed, 3 negative, The Guardian 2* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, Letterboxd average 2.9 out of 5, EmpireOnlinecom. 3* out of 5* Helen O’Hara, Amazon 3.6* out of 5* with 73 reviews. 

Special Note:  Keira Knightly uses a body double for the nude scenes.  This is the second film collaboration of Knightley and Clarke.  They were also a married couple in Everest 2015.