Group Portrait with a Lady

Romy Schneider seemingly gave up working in German cinema in the early 1960s, but many of her later roles were nonetheless made in typical Western European co-productions in France, Italy and (West) Germany. The historical fresco Group Portrait with a Lady was a (West) German and French co-production. It was based on a novel by the then very popular Nobel Prize-winner Heinrich Böll. The theme was (once again) about coming to terms with the times of National Socialism. The protagonists were ordinary people experiencing inhuman hardships. The message was clear, and the return of the famous actress was a major event. Still, the film fails to adequately illustrate the entire complex saga with its many complicated relationships between characters that have been inexorably changed beyond recognition by the war. (10/03/2021)