Death in Love (2008)

The devastating legacy of a liaison between a concentration camp inmate and a Nazi doctor reflects on the lives of her sons.

Director:

Boaz Yakin

Writer:

Boaz Yakin

Stars:

Josh Lucas, Jacqueline Bisset, Lukas Haas

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Josh Lucas	...	Eldest Son
Jacqueline Bisset	...	The Mother
Lukas Haas	...	Youngest Son
Morena Baccarin	...	Beautiful Woman
Betty Gilpin	...	Young Model
Emma Bell	...	Young Girl
Vanessa Kai	...	Asian Woman
Carrington Vilmont	...	The Doctor
Jean Brassard	...	Young Girl's Father
Adam Brody	...	Talent Agent
Stu Richel	...	The Father
Matt Walton	...	Young Father
Jake Houston	...	Younger Brother
Nicholas Sireci	...	Young Brother
Kelli Giddish	...	Young Mother

Storyline

During World War II, a Jewish woman saves her life thanks to a love affair with a doctor in charge of human experiments in a Nazi concentration camp. The woman then marries and moves to New York, where she raises two emotionally stunted sons. The eldest son battles his sense of disconnection from life while working at a scam modeling agency, where he befriends a charming young co-worker who begins to restore in him a sense of excitement and purpose. The neurotic younger son is locked in a compulsive, co-dependent relationship with his mother.

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Plot Keywords:

nazi | concentration camp | jewish | affair | cigarette smoking | 

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Taglines:

Sin. Suffer. Repeat.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing violent and graphic sexual content, nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English German French

Release Date:

17 July 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Death in Love

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DI Love

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

None of the characters have names, the screenplay was written specifically for all the characters not to address each other by name.

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Quotes

Eldest Son: [voice-over] When you're young, and the woman in your hands is young, you're provoked by the life in her skin, in the muscles under her skin. You can smell life in the sweet perfume of her sweat and her breath, sweet perfume that can make you dizzy. You can sense life in the jittery convulsions of her reactions to every new touch and sensation. And you feel young and alive and jolted by excitement every time you come near her. But the older you get, the older the woman in your hands gets, you ...

User Reviews

Intense adult drama about repercussions of violence and war

This movie tells a story held secret by most people who write about the Holocaust, which is the crippling effect of the Survivors' war experiences on their children. Studies have shown that the children of Nazi Holocaust Survivors share many if not all of their parents' psychological issues, particularly depression and post-traumatic stress. This film has the rare courage and honesty to show the bleak emotional damage left by that war, not only on its direct victims but on their children as well. The portrait of the mother is particularly bitterly real -- her seemingly inexplicably outbursts and fits of violence a near-mirror of the unexplained violence she witnessed as a girl; her narcissism and coldness linked to her own abandonment as a girl. Again, a poignant and tragic reality of the psychological landscape of all survivors of war. The actors were superb, the dialogue actually worth LISTENING to. Haas and Lucas put in beautifully nuanced performances and Bisset was outstanding in arguably the best, most emotional performance of her career, and looking more beautiful than ever.

This is not an easy film. It is most definitely not a family film (there are explicit depictions of sex). It is a disturbing portrait of broken people struggling to find reasons to stay alive. It's pretty great, really.