See the movie, then see the painting

Rating: 10/10 (1 June 2015)

Woman in Gold (2015), directed by Simon Curtis, is about a painting--Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer--a 1907 work by Gustav Klimt. The painting was owned by Austrian Jews, and it was immediately confiscated when Austria joined Germany and the Nazis gained control of the country.
The beautiful painting was proudly displayed in Austria after World War II ended. The basic plot of this film is the attempt of an elderly descendant of the owners--Helen Mirren--to regain what was stolen from her family. In this quest she's aided by a young lawyer--Randol Schoenberg--and an Austrian journalist, played by Daniel Brühl.
We know the painting was eventually recovered, so there's no actual suspense. However, that doesn't mean the movie isn't gripping and compelling. The Austrian government fought with every tool at its disposal to keep the painting, and the David & Goliath struggle must have truly looked hopeless at the time. (It's easy in retrospect to say, "Of course she should and will get the painting." But this battle was waged for seven years, and, while it was going on, there must have been more grim moments than happy ones.)
The most poignant part of the movie isn't about the painting per se, but about the fate of Austrian and German Jews, who believed they were integrated into society, and were respected by all. This society turned upon them in an instant, and suddenly they were fleeing for their lives. Some of them escaped, but most didn't. The society and culture they loved suddenly had no use for them, and wanted them destroyed. Even those who survived physically must have been scarred forever psychologically.
People say, "You've seen the movie, now read he book." Well, there is, indeed, a book, but what I really mean is, "You've seen the movie. Now see the painting." The Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer has pride of place in the Neue Galerie on New York's Upper East Side (near the Metropolitan Museum of Art.) We saw it, and it is indeed beautiful. People are lined up around the block to view the painting that was taking away forcibly, and taken back legally.