One minute I would be swept away by this movie and the next minute I almost felt like fast-forwarding. I wish I didnt know anything about Gerhard Richter's life, it would have made the movie more enjoyable. Being "inspired" by Richter's life, there's a tendency to wonder why the writer used real events one minute and not-so-real events the next. Elisabeth was institutionalized but was starved to death and there wasn't a down-syndrome girl who said "I like you" to a female guard as she was sent to a gas chamber. I found this disgusting. I didn't understand why Professor Carl Seeband played such a significant part throughout the whole movie if Barnert was never going to realize who he was or get caught for what he did. Another thing that bugged me immensely was naming Barnert's girlfriend/wife Elisabeth and then having him not want to call her that, instead calling her Ellie, which makes one assume that it made him think of his dear aunt. His wife wasn't Elisabeth. It was too much fiction for me and at the same time too much bio pic. I wish the maker of the film would have chosen one or the other. If had been just a movie about an artist post-Hitler, it would have been a better movie....or better yet, a TRUE portrayal of Richter's life.
Review of Never Look Away
