Page 30 - AT

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Friday 15 February 2019
'Never Look Away' is an absorbing, exhausting ride

By JOCELYN NOVECK and morally corrupt. Elisa-
Associated Press beth whispers to Kurt that
What to say about an Os- she actually likes the stuff.
car-nominated film that's Elisabeth is beautiful
more than three hours long, enough to be chosen to
apparently despised by the hand a bouquet to Adolf
man whose life inspired it, Hitler as he rides through
and has been called both town. But we soon learn
a masterpiece and a ma- she suffers from schizophre-
nipulation? Perhaps that nia. Her mother takes her
the film's fascinating back- to the doctor, a fatal mis-
story could make for anoth- take. As she's carted away
er three-hour movie. against her will, she calls
The protagonist would out to young Kurt: "Never
be German director Flo- look away!" Because all
rian Henckel von Donners- that is true, she has taught
marck, who won the for- him, is beautiful. Elisabeth
eign language Oscar for will soon cross paths with
Germany with his first fea- Carl Seeband (a superb
ture, the hugely compelling Sebastian Koch), a leading
"The Lives of Others," about gynecologist who will seal
the Stasi in East Germany. her fate. We meet him at
He moved to Hollywood a gathering where Nazi of-
and a few years later utter- This image released by Sony Pictures Classics shows Sebastian Koch in a scene from "Never Look ficials give the order to not
ly dismayed fans with "The Away." merely sterilize mentally ill
Tourist," starring Angelina Associated Press women, but release them
Jolie and Johnny Depp. from their "worthless lives."
Now, nearly a decade loosely tells. (The fictional lic to know who's "right." The the feel of more than one (It must be mentioned here
later, he's made "Never main character is named only thing to do is judge the film. that a gas chamber scene
Look Away," a sumptu- Kurt Barnert.) Richter, 87, movie, nominated in the We begin in 1937 with Kurt, is disturbing and, frankly,
ous, sweeping saga about the noted German artist, Oscar foreign language a little boy, accompanying feels unwisely explicit.) At
nothing less than war and initially cooperated with category, for itself: a highly his beloved aunt Elisabeth war's end, Seeband is cap-
art, and the powers of the von Donnersmarck, spend- ambitious, compulsively (a moving Saskia Rosen- tured by the Russians, but
latter to heal the wounds of ing many hours recounting watchable and also ex- dahl) to the "Degenerate survives by finding a way to
the former. his story, but has since an- hausting and exasperat- Art" exhibit, mounted by get into the good graces
Enter Gerhard Richter, grily disavowed the film. ing work, not merely for its the Nazis to excoriate mod- of a commander, who pro-
whose story the film not-so- There's no way for the pub- length but because it has ern artworks as decadent tects his terrible secret.q

Dismas Hardy returns in 'The Rule of Law'

acters, they have to deal at the time of the murder,
with both the joys and sor- she's arrested as an acces-
rows of growing older. Yet sory. Hardy knows she had
the past is always lingering nothing to do with this coy-
in the background waiting ote's death, so he sets out
to cause chaos at the most to prove it, which puts him
inopportune moment. in a fight with the new dis-
Dismas Hardy sees his prac- trict attorney, and he has a
tice expanding. His friend grudge against Hardy and
has lost re-election to the his colleagues. Ron James-
district attorney position on has already let the pow-
and another close ally er of his new office go to
has retired from the po- his head, and if he has to
lice department. Things bend the rules a bit to get
start to get wonky when what he wants, he will. Now
This cover image released by
Atria shows "The Rule of Law," his trusted secretary disap- Hardy is in the way.
by John Lescroart. pears. It's completely out Several strong themes reso-
Associated Press of character for her, and nate throughout this story
when she returns as if noth- including corruption, im-
By JEFF AYERS ing has happened, Hardy migration, and the power
Associated Press wants answers. She says her of love and family. Hardy
"The Rule of Law" (Atria), by brother has been released wants to follow the rule of
John Lescroart from prison and she's let- law, and his foe in the dis-
Dismas Hardy and his col- ting him crash at her place. trict attorney's office will ig-
leagues are forced into a Then the police arrive to ar- nore it to succeed. Lescro-
case with personal ramifi- rest her. art has crafted another
cations in John Lescroart's A human trafficker has wonderful legal thriller that
latest novel, "The Rule of been killed, and the evi- will easily please his fans
Law." dence leads to her broth- and those who aren't famil-
As time passes for the char- er. Since she wasn't seen iar with his body of work.q