Can love be found amidst the horrors of a World War II concentration camp? It can according to "Emotional Arithmetic." This moving new film by director Paolo Barzman reveals just how such bonds can grow and endure.
Based on Matt Cohen's gripping novel, "Emotional Arithmetic" tells the story of two children and a bitter young man who meet at Drancy, a transit camp outside Paris where Jews were held before being moved to Auschwitz. In the midst of such brutality Jakob Bronski (Max von Sydow) sees some reminder of human goodness in the orphan Melanie (portrayed as an adult by Susan Sarandon) and her friend Christopher (Gabriel Byrne). Moved by their innocence, Jakob watches over them with fierce, fatherly affection and keeps these foundlings from certain death.
Years later, Melanie, now a middle-aged woman, invites Jakob to holiday with her, her cranky, philandering husband (Christopher Plummer) and son (Roy Dupuis) at their beautiful Quebec farm. When Jakob arrives, he brings Christopher, who still carries a torch for his lost childhood sweetheart.
Suddenly the ripe autumn hues and lush countryside of Quebec's Eastern Townships become the backdrop for an emotional meltdown that makes the madness of Drancy look like a walk in the park.
Connecting the story
"Anna Stratton, the film's producer gave me the book," says Barzman, who spoke with CTV from his home in Montreal. "It spoke to me of the Holocaust generation, which is my generation. But I also saw that it was talking about memory and how the weight of it affects people."
What people do with the burden of memory is the heart of Barzman's film. As he says, "It's a subject that works beyond the Holocaust. You can apply it to anyone who has been through something very tragic in their life."
Barzman had some idea of what that was like. The son of noted screenwriters Ben and Norma Barzman, his blacklisted father wrote screenplays for many Hollywood films, including the 1945 John Wayne flick, "Back to Bataan," 1961's "El Cid," and 1966's "The Blue Max."
Barzman swore off filmmaking after seeing the aftermath of his father's blacklisting. Instead, he pursued studies in painting and graphics at the Academie Julian in Paris.
"I stayed away from film because I saw the hardships my father went through after he was forced to leave Hollywood," says Barzman. "The film industry can be very brutal. It wasn't something I wanted to get involved in."
Then in 1977 the soft-spoken artist met famed French filmmaker Jean Renoir. Working together for the last three years of Renoir's life, Barzman says, "I realized where my passion really lay."
Star search
With much of his career spent in television, landing "Emotional Arithmetic's" heavyweight stars wasn't easy.
"They read the script and had their reservations," says Barzman. After meeting with them and adjusting the script, Barzman's dream list of actors became a reality.
"A lot of intuition went in to the script changes, especially from Susan," says Barzman. "She was really right about how she saw Melanie. Any changes I made were done not just to satisfy her, but for myself."
As Barzman says, "Working with incredible actors really steps things up for a director. But this film's story also pushed me in new ways. When you start talking about the Holocaust or other moments in history it forces you to be honest. It's an obligation."
It all adds up
The ultimate irony to "Emotional Arithmetic" is that emotional upheaval and healing are both generated in the idyllic Quebec countryside.
"The scenery around Melanie's home is a metaphor for contemporary times," says Barzman. "These friends first meet in a world of chaos and ugliness. But when they do reconnect they can't find any harmony to their lives, despite the fact that nature's perfect harmony is all around them."
Such sumptuous natural beauty, says Barzman, is integral in the equation to these people's lives. "I didn't just shoot the countryside to make a pretty movie," says Barzman. "These characters can't find any balance and yet it's all around them. All they have to do to find inner peace is look to nature."
