Review: Sedona International Film Festival Features THE KEEPER

One of the most striking yet understated moments in Marcus H. Rosenmüller's THE KEEPER is a handshake between a former Nazi soldier and a rabbi. It is symbolic of a theme of reconciliation that imbues the entire film (a British-German collaboration) with a humanistic and heroic sensibility. It is the culmination of a story that, in the wake of a devastating war, would seem highly unlikely and yet, as it unfolds, reveals the limitless capacity for forgiveness and comity.

David Kross delivers a commanding role as Bert Trautmann, the German soldier and prisoner of war whom fate delivered from the rigors of latrine duty to the championship fields of soccer and legendary status as the goalkeeper of the celebrated Manchester City Football Club.

The face of fate was Jack Friar (John Henshaw), a local gregarious grocer, who in the course of his deliveries to the POW camp in Lancashire spotted Bert's remarkable agility as goal keeper. The manager of a local soccer team, he finagles a deal with the camp commander to allow Bert to work under his supervision. It's an act of opportunism and pragmatism that does not sit well with family and neighbors, given the bombardment and losses they so recently suffered at the hands of the Nazi Luftwaffe. When the local team starts winning, however, attitudes soften, especially that of Jack's daughter Margaret (Scottish actress Freya Mayor).

As familiarity and soccer field successes breed begrudging community acceptance, Margaret's hostility chills and romance takes wing. She and Bert find communality in their respective loves for soccer ("mindlessly kicking a ball about all day") and dancing (the feeling of the body actually floating, like dreaming, "but without having to wake up"). Both are exercises of freedom in the moment.

The trajectory of Bert and Margaret's relationship is beautifully portrayed by Kross and Mayor, their subtle expressions clear road maps to their emerging feelings. The writing is near poetic as when, in a confrontation between the two, Bert says, "I'd rather have danced with you than stood on the battle field, but I didn't have a choice."

The memories for the villagers of frantic swing dances interrupted by air raid sirens and for soldiers of battlefield brutality are assuaged by time and personal interaction. It's the grace of this film that the possibility of reconciliation between sworn enemies can be visualized one dramatic frame after another.

Bert's recruitment to Manchester City is greeted with outrage by the Jewish community. It was then that Rabbi Alexander Altmann (Butz Ulrich Buse), in an act of conscience and despite the loss of his parents and family members to the Nazi genocide, expressed his approval and set the stage for that momentous handshake.

As a biopic, THE KEEPER faithfully tracks Bert's ascendance as a footballer, his recruitment by Manchester City to be its prime goalkeeper, his marriage to Margaret and the birth of their son, his accomplishments and bravery on the soccer field, and an unbearable family tragedy.

There are deeper layers of meaning in this film that elevate it to a level beyond a story of romance and reconciliation. There are too the wages of war to be calculated and the responsibilities that must be borne for obeying orders.

Flash back, for example, to the prison camp under the command of the bitter and punitive Sergeant Smythe (Harry Melling) who confronted the POWs with footage of the horrors of the concentration camps.

More consequentially are Bert's recurrent flashbacks to a moment when he might have saved a child's life ~ a moment that his mind reinvents until the truth of it is revealed in the wake of an unimaginable personal tragedy. The film arrives at the "what goes around comes around" realization that takes its toll on his marriage and whatever satisfaction he has achieved on the field.

THE KEEPER takes the viewer to unexpected places of reflection and emotion and, in the end is a deeply sensitive and illuminating film to be kept in one's portfolio of favorite flicks.

THE KEEPER is one of the featured films at this year's Sedona International Film Festival.

Photo credit to Zephyr Films

Sedona International Film Festival ~ https://sedonafilmfestival.com/ ~ 928-282-1177

Saturday, February 22nd through Sunday, March 1st.

Purchase passes at https://sedonafilmfestival.com/purchase-passes/

Multiple venues: Mary D. Fisher Theatre, 2030 W. Highway 89A; Harkins Theatres, 2081 W. Highway 89A; Sedona Performing Arts Center, 995 Upper Red Rock Loop Road

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