Visitation, a film by Volker Schlöndorff, is an intelligent and elegantly crafted chronicle of German history, adapted from Jenny Erpenbeck's acclaimed novel Heimsuchung. The movie focuses on a hundred years of German history through the lens of two summer houses on adjoining plots of lakeside land near Berlin. This microcosmic narrative is brought to life by a strong cast, including Martina Gedeck and Lars Eidinger, who portray visitors and residents who pass through the story's four dimensions. Schlöndorff's refined cinematic and literary taste is evident in his ability to show how political forces impact personal lives without feeling preachy or obvious.
One of the film's unique aspects is its setting. Much of the narrative is set in and around Albert Einstein's actual summer home in Caputh, a Bauhaus-style structure designed by Konrad Wachsmann. This adds an extra layer of meaning to the story, as Einstein's house is built by a Nazi architect, played by Lars Eidinger. The architect's legal maneuvers, including putting the deeds in the name of his fiancée, have significant repercussions later in the film.
The story also features a German Jewish cloth manufacturer and his family, who live in a more modest summer hut just a few meters down the shoreline. The manufacturer's family is initially on equal footing with the Nazis next door, but the 'Aryanization' laws of 1933 allow the architect to buy their land cheaply. Schlöndorff handles the tragedy of the manufacturer's family with dignified pathos, using found letters by a real girl named Doris Kaplan to create ghostly reminders of their existence.
The film continues through the war, with the architect shipped to the Eastern Front and his wife surviving an occupation by Soviet soldiers. The final section features an acclaimed left-wing writer who uses her party connections to gain sole access to the house. Marija, a young girl who finds Doris' letters, becomes the dominant character in the last stretch of the film. As the wall comes down, the house slips through her family's grasp, leading to a downbeat and flat ending.
While Visitation may not be Schlöndorff's best film, it is a work of worthy craftsmanship and seriousness. The film's exploration of German history and its impact on personal lives is a testament to the director's refined taste and ability to craft intelligent, engaging narratives.
