Ich bin! Margot Friedländer

Margot Friedländer is an extremely remarkable woman. She has written a very moving book about her life that gets under your skin with every line and is absolutely believable. The film adaptation of her life only shows a fragment of what she really experienced and what is portrayed in the book. Unfortunately, the cinematic concept isn't entirely convincing. The interview sequences with the real Margot Friedländer are mixed with re-enacted scenes. The entire part in the Theresienstadt internment camp, the time after the liberation and their trip to America are missing or only briefly touched on. Sure, you can't portray a whole life in 90 minutes, but at least you can portray what it was about. Not only her time in the underground, but also her time in the camp. All in all worth seeing, but poorly staged and not really convincing. The real Margot in the interview scenes is the best, as is her young double, the actress Julia Anna Grob.

When I was a child I used to hear many stories of war time from my parents and grand parents. Other than people of today who only know this time from books, photos and told meomories and despite all curious questions they weren't keen to elaborate about the time, the horrors they experienced -"you don't want to know that, believe me" they used to say- and instead taught me to be friendly, open-minded, courageous, not greedy, not mean, self-confident, sturdy and positive. I was impressed how they emphasised to see the good in all and an inevitable forgiveness was in that. This I also found in this movie. Maybe, that's the essence of survival - to be happy that it's over and to keep the best in you and pass this on as a rule of life.