Photo via Eyrie Entertainment - eyrieentertainment.com
The Path
The Path
One of the many tense scenes in The Path occurs in a café kitchen during a raid by the Vichy French police. At the behest of their Nazi occupiers, the police are demanding to see papers. Ludwig and his nine-year-old son Rolf are refugees from Nazi Germany—and their papers are not in order. They duck into the kitchen. Ludwig crouches under a table, Rolf dons a chef’s hat and hides his dog Adi in a big cook pot.
The cop who inspects the kitchen is suspicious and wants to know what’s cooking. On impulse, he lights the gas stove—and we wait for a painful howl from within the pot … but the cop hears the call from his commander that their mission is accomplished and bids adieu. Rolf, Ludwig and Adi will live for another day.
Directed by German filmmaker Tobias Wiemann, The Path is a tale rooted in the reality of the escape route taken by many of Hitler’s refugees, a dangerous hike across the Pyrenees into pro-Nazi but officially neutral Spain. From there, to actually neutral Portugal and a boat from Lisbon (just like the opening of Casablanca) to the U.S. Philosopher Walter Benjamin was among the real-life refugees who took that path. Despairing, he committed suicide along the way.
The Path’s suspense concerns whether Ludwig and Rolf will make it to America. Their beloved dog proves problematic. On the train to the Spanish border, a French cop asking for papers (they have obtained forged passes) overhears the dog’s name. Adi, a German dog? Jewish refugees? The cop looks the family over, smiles, shrugs and walks away. Maybe he has a son and a dog at home?
The Path opens this year’s Milwaukee Jewish Film Festival on Sunday, Oct. 15 at the Marcus North Shore Cinema. Including films originating in Italy, France, the U.S. and Israel, the Jewish Film Festival runs at the Marcus North Shore through Oct. 19 and streams through Oct. 29 for home viewing. For more information, visit mkejewishfilm.eventive.org/welcome.
