emotionally

“The Flat” is an emotionally riveting documentary

By GalaTView Staff

Photo: Courtesy

At age 98, filmmaker Goldfinger’s grandmother passed away, leaving him the task of clearing out the Tel Aviv flat that she and her husband shared for decades since immigrating from Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Sifting through a dense mountain of photos, letters, files, and objects, Goldfinger begins to uncover clues that seem to point to a greater mystery and soon a complicated family history unfolds before his camera. What starts to take shape reflects nothing less than the troubled and taboo story of three generations of Germans – both Jewish and non-Jewish – trying to piece together the puzzle of their lives in the aftermath of the terrible events of World War II.

It’s clear she knows nothing of her father’s war crimes. Or does she? In families, this fascinating film suggests, acknowledging or denying the darker truths of one’s legacy is a choice that must be made again and again, each and every day.