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Film Review
Twin Sisters (De
tweeling)
Director: Ben Sombogaart (2002)
Country: The Netherlands/Luxembourg
Language: Dutch/German
Review by Jenni van Wageningen
Lotte and Anna are 6 year old twins who are brutally separated at the graveside of their father when they become orphans. The sickly Lotte is sent to Holland where she is nursed back to health to enjoy all the privileges of her aunt’s well-to-do and cultured family. Anna, on the other hand, remains in Germany where she is maltreated and endures a Cinderella-like existence on her uncle’s farm, forced to work rather than attend school. Even though the twins long to see each other again, both sets of relatives actively discourage any contact between them, ‘for their own good.’
When the twins are young women, they briefly meet each other again. But the joy of the reunion is overshadowed by the outbreak of World War II. This has a devastating effect on their individual lives, as well as on their relationship. They suddenly find themselves on different sides of the fence, and romantic attachments bring matters to breaking point. Lotte becomes engaged to a Jew who later perishes in Auschwitz, while Anna marries an Austrian soldier who becomes an SS officer. Both girls lose the men they love.
When they meet again after the war prejudice and misunderstandings lead to a violent collapse of all sisterly feelings. The German Anna makes her anti-Jewish sentiments very clear, while the Dutch Lotte with her stereotyped view of all Nazis is horrified by her sister’s marriage. Even though they are twins, their different backgrounds have shaped their outlook and opinions.
Fifty years later they meet by chance in a Belgian health resort. Lotte finds it difficult to forgive and forget, and prefers to avoid facing the issue, while Anna persists in trying to bring about understanding and resolution. Eventually they do manage to struggle towards reconciliation.
Twin sisters (De tweeling) is based on the book by Tessa de Loo published in 1994. This was a best seller in both Germany and Holland and is also available in an English translation. The movie was one of five nominated for Best Foreign Language film at the 2004 Academy Awards.
Although the war is the main backdrop, there are no scenes of violence. All the action is played out in the everyday life of people, rather than on a battlefield or in a concentration camp.
There are no goodies and baddies, and this avoids many of the clichés we might expect to see in a Dutch production. Not all Germans are portrayed as brutal and unprincipled, nor are all the Dutch characters honourable and heroic. All characters have their weaknesses as they react to the stress of war. Anna’s SS officer husband is a kind and sensitive man who joined the SS training school only so he would be transferred back home to marry his sweetheart; while Lotte discovers that her Dutch uncle has kept food coupons for himself.
We are given the opportunity to explore the war and its effects on people from both sides. Politicians and leaders may decide to go to war, but it is the common people who bear the brunt. We are certainly acutely aware of the sheer pointlessness of war as it takes it toll on human lives. It is clear that there are no winners.
Lotte and Anna, who are so close as little girls, are cast adrift in life, the victims of snap decisions and chance which have ultimately determined the course and outcomes of their lives. The only solution provided is a plea to put aside misunderstanding and prejudice and to persist with communication and reconciliation. This is played out on a personal level and has obvious applications on a wider socio-political canvas.
Both Lotte and Anna spend most of their lives in the
grip of prejudice. How they grew up has shaped their thinking and
allowed a deep-seated bitterness to take root. Needless to say, this is
a portrayal where the hand of God in history and in the lives of
individuals is not recognized.
This is a moving and impressive human story. Like most foreign language
productions with subtitles, it will not be screened in mass market
cinemas. Look for it in ‘specialty’ cinemas or track down the DVD.
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