Spring 41

Director: Uri Barbash
Israel/Poland 2008 122 mins
Language: English
Cast: Starring Joseph Fiennes and Claire Higgins

Based on the writings by Ida Fink, Spring 41 tells the story of Clara Planck (Claire Higgins), a famous virtuoso cellist, returning to Poland 30 years after World War II to visit the places that still haunt her. Once a happy and successful young Jewish family living in Warsaw- Clara, her husband Doctor Artur Planck (Joseph Fiennes) and their young daughter are forced to flee for their lives following the Nazi invasion of Poland. They find refuge at a Polish woman’s remote farm, but a love triangle soon develops between the young adults, making life impossible for them all.

Spring 41 is poignant and devastating story of love, terror, survival and betrayal and a true labour of love for the Oscar- nominated Israeli director Uri Barbash. What makes this powerful historical drama even more remarkable is that it is the first ever Israeli-Polish co-production, perhaps symbolically marking a new era in the historically complex Jewish-Polish relations. DB