Frau Stern (2019)

The 90-year-old Frau Stern (played by Ahuva Sommerfeld, who made her onscreen acting debut in this film, and has regretfully passed away in 2019 aged 82) spends her time in modern-day Berlin in the manner of its young citizens – she smokes weed, gets her hair done by her personal young barber (and even tries to flirt with him), and hangs around her neighborhood with her granddaughter. Stern survived the Holocaust and has been in this world way too long, so she constantly and confidently proclaims her persistent desire to die. She is also struggling with her inner distrust towards the Germans who surround her, remembering how they acted half a century ago. The world around her has changed so rapidly and for the best, but to Frau Stern it feels like it has gone way too far ahead, become artificial, and forgotten about the Catastrophe. Even when Stern is invited on television to talk about her horrific experiences, she seems unable to recall anything other than the usual mournful adages. The world around the heroine of this wonderful German comedy-drama almost melts away in the cannabis smoke and disappears in the memory of someone who has seen too much during her time.