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Germany, Israel · 2014
1h 36m
Director Yael Reuveny
Starring
Genre Documentary
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Filmmaker Yael Reuveny tries to understand why her great-uncle, a Holocaust survivor, chose to resettle in Soviet-occupied Eastern Germany, change his name, and start a family there after his imprisonment. In the process of interviewing her family and researching their past, Reuveny explores the nature of historical trauma and the difference between forgiving and forgetting.
The film peels back the layers of a mystery. Who knew what, and when? And how could someone choose this path? The film is rich with artfully framed interviews of newly discovered family members, like Reuveny’s quarter-Jewish German cousin considering a religious conversion. Even the music and finely observed interiors are so cinematic that you often forget this is a documentary.
The Hollywood Reporter by Frank Scheck
There's no denying that this is a fascinating story, albeit one that raises far more questions than it answers.
The New York Times by Jeannette Catsoulis
Yael Reuveny’s Farewell Herr Schwarz traces a Holocaust mystery with stumbling curiosity and endearing sincerity.
It’s an absorbing documentary that eloquently explores questions about forgiveness.
The sobering quality that informs both the documentary's aesthetic and content largely suppresses any spontaneity or much-needed moments of levity.
How wrong can one day go?