The film captured me from the beginning; a sequence of a newsreel from April 28th, 1945 shot at Malmö Harbor, Sweden, in which a large group of women reaches freedom after German concentration camps. We see them smile and say hello to the camera, there is Nadine with her white scarf, striped uniform, and that mysterious gaze.
The film has been made with exquisite delicacy to tell a story of survival in the 20th Century. It is also a tale of profound love and intimacy that portrays moments in Nelly & Nadine´s apartment in Caracas, Venezuela, and Sylvie´s home, a place sweeter than home in the French countryside. Magnus Gertten, the director, invites us to a rendezvous as in a family talking about people we know and love deeply.
How many mementos do we keep in trunks, boxes, or in a drawer for years? How many documents, photos, letters, soundtracks, videos, books, and handwritten notes contain our deepest desires, feelings and experiences? The documentary made me reflect on this, as I watched Sylvie Bianchi, granddaughter of Nelly Mousset-Vos finding whatever things had belonged to her grandmother that had been in storage for decades; also while I looked at Sylvie’s sensitivity evolving into a richer comprehension of life.
Nelly was a mezzo-soprano and also a member of the French Resistance movement; she was arrested in Paris in 1943 for espionage. Nadine was the daughter of a Chinese diplomat and in her prime was linked to the “Académie des femmes” in Paris, she helped people escape to Spain by way of the Pyrenées. Nelly and Nadine had the status of political prisoners and were sent to Ravensbrück where they met and shared several months in captivity until February 1945, when they were taken apart in a dark night; five days later, Nelly arrived at Mauthausen, the antechamber of hell. How to find the courage to survive? And they did. Afterward, they went from “Le camp du réquiem” to “Le retour a la vie” and made plans where caviar and champagne were waiting for their return after a glamorous night out.
Through Nelly´s diary, we got to know her experiences from the camps, she prayed to keep the flame of her soul alive; for Noël 1944 she wrote “the sky is as pretty as a Christmas present”. She also wrote:” Nadine´s eyes light up when they see me.”
Each frame of the documentary is a picture in itself, perfectly composed and edited. Off voices add warmth to the narrative and thanks to a skillful selection of photos and Super-8 footage, we know about Nelly and see her through Nadine’s eyes. In a particularly moving moment, we listen to Nelly singing Puccini´s “Un bel di vedremo”. Comme il faut, there are included excepts of her singing Debussy´s Chansons de Bilitis and Fauré´s La mer est infinie.
Joan Schenkar, the literary biographer, remarks: “Nothing is real, socially, until it is expressed” while Sylvie listens with her eyes wide open. José Rafael Lovera a friend of Nelly & Nadine, referring to their relationship, says “It wasn´t about hiding anything, what I saw between Nelly and Nadine was something stronger beyond simply displaying affection”. And it is for this depiction that we learn something more about these two women in love amidst adversity. Thank you Sylvie and Anne Bianchi, for the gift you give to the world by sharing your family secrets.
The documentary, an enthralling experience, was presented in the Panorama Section at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival and director Magnus Gertten received the prestigious Teddy, Jury Award. Mr. Gertten has two previous films inspired by the 1945 newsreel: Harbor of Hope (2011) and Every Face Has a Name (2015). Chapeau!
Cinematographer Caroline Troedsson
Nelly Mousset-Vos 1906-1987 / Nadine Hwang 1902 – 1972
Nelly & Nadine premieres in Sweden on March 11, 2022 and for all other festival screenings
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https://www.facebook.com/NellyAndNadineFilm/Review by José Mayorga , Guatemala, Central America Lawyer and notary public, visual artist, and editor
of El Azar Cultural. Lives and works in Guatemala City. Cinema lover, curious about the possibilities life brings
and eager to live the experience.
