Berlin, 1942. A shy Hilde falls in love with Hans and gradually finds her place in the resistance group that would come to be known as the 'Red Orchestra'. Together, they spend a beautiful summer where their relationship entwines with quiet acts
of defiance. But when the Gestapo arrests members of the group, Hilde and Hans are among their numbers and must find the strength to confront their situation.
Inspired by an incredible true story set against the backdrop of a country torn by conflict, From Hilde, with Love is a powerful tale of love and resistance.
The Garden Cinema View:
From Hilde, with Love is a gripping and powerful story that is carried by a quietly devastating performance from Liv Lisa Fries as the titular Red Orchestra resistance member. This is a film of contrasts, with cinematographer Judith Kaufmann contrasting a summer of warm romance and small acts of resistance against the stark, cold, walls of Barnimstrasse women's prison. The idyll of espionage and eroticism has a lowkey, Lust, Caution element to it, whilst later reckonings with the brutal regime approach some of the themes of Terrence Malick’s A Hidden Life. Although there is not a clear break between freedom and incarceration, as director Andreas Dresen repeatedly returns to non-linear scenes depicting the earlier courtship and resistance between Hilde and her husband Hans. This structure brings relief and empathy to some of the more upsetting sequences, but does disrupt the pacing as the film settles into a fairly lengthy runtime. Nonetheless, films like this feel necessary as we witness the stakes of speaking out against authoritarianism begin to rise once again in our own societies.
