Many movies have been made depicting the atrocities committed by the Nazis during World War II. “Woman in Gold” starring Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds relates the story of a wealthy Austrian-Jewish family whose priceless art collection and family treasures were plundered by the Nazis. The prize in their collection was “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer” by the renowned Austrian painter Gustav Klimt. Using oil paint and gold, Klimt painted the full-length portrait in 1907 which is known as “Woman in Gold.”
The movie focuses on the attempts by Maria Altmann, Adele Bloch-Bauer’s niece, to reclaim this family treasure. Helen Mirren plays Altmann, who with her husband escaped from Germany and had settled in California. Years later, she hires Randy Schoenberg, Ryan Reynolds, to explore the possibilities of reclaiming what was rightfully owned by her family. Considered to be an Austrian art treasure, the painting was, at the time, owned by the Austrian government.
The film takes us through the lengthy process of proving ownership of the painting. Alternating between the present and events occurring in Vienna during the war, the viewer is given the historical context of what happened to Austrian-Jewish families after Hitler annexed Austria. How Schoenberg was able to finally prove to an Austrian panel that Altmann was the owner of the “Woman in Gold” is dramatically explained.
While this is not a great movie, the subject matter is very interesting, especially since there have been several recent court cases involving similar art thefts. Helen Mirren’s depiction of the stubborn and committed Maria Altmann saves the movie. 