NELLY & NADINE

MAGNUS GERTTEN | SWEDEN, BELGIUM + NORWAY | 2022 | 90 MIN | SWEDISH, SPANISH, FRENCH + ENGLISH S.-T.EN.

It’s 1945, and black and white footage captures the survivors of German concentration camps as they arrive in Malmö, Sweden. Nadine Hwang’s is a fascinating face among the war-battered multitude, her expression enigmatic. As many have asked about the Mona Lisa, filmmaker Magnus Gertten asks, “What is she thinking?” After scouring the photographs, diaries, and film reels tucked away on Nelly Mousset-Vos’s granddaughter’s farm in Northern France and taking us with him on a hunt across Europe and South America for clues, he thinks he has his answer. And a mysterious mood piece unfolds. Famous literary salons attended. Espionage undertaken. Gertten’s uncommonly affecting documentary is a confluence of poetic prose, exquisite cinematography, and an elegant score, with rich archival footage of private queer lives. All doing justice to Nelly and Nadine’s grand, enduring romance.

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