The Woman in Gold, Klimt's Dazzling Paintings of History and Justice

The film The Woman in Gold, starring Oscar winner Helen Mirren & Ryan Reynolds, is the story of Maria Altman who escaped the atrocities of Nazi Germany in WWII.  The on-screen chemistry between Mirren & Reynolds is irrefutably disarming.  More than 50 yrs. after WWII, Mrs. Altman pursues legal channels v. the Austrian govt. to  reclaim the Klimt paintings stolen from her family by the Nazis.  The iconic painting "The Woman in Gold," is a portrait made of Maria's Aunt Adele.  Maria was raised in a combined household: Maria's sister & parents and her uncle & his wife, Adele; the woman Klimt etermanlized in the painting now hanging in the Neue Museum.  The movie traces Maria's from a young girl, to her joyous wedding & to the couple's harrowing escape from Nazi occupied Vienna leaving her beloved parents behind.  Maria & her husband fled Nazi persecution to join her sister who emigrated to America.  Fifty years later, widowed and bereft after her sister's passing, Maria discovers documents pertaining to the Klimt portraitures of her aunt.  She enlists the legal assistance of a friend's son to determine whether she has any claim to these paintings that have become imbedded in the psyche of Austrian's heritage.  This gleaming movie is a David v. Goliath story.  It is a poignant tale of loyalty, dignity, perseverance,  and strength.  It speaks to the heart of what life demands of us; justice, redemption and human dignity.  This is not a preachy, melodrama.  It is a beacon of humanity at its most brilliance.  See this movie, visit the Klimt paintings at Neue in NYC and remember the history imbedded in the canvases of these invaluable works.