'Treasure' digs up both comedy and tragedy
Stephen Fry and Lena Dunham make an unlikely but affecting father-daughter duo
(Photo courtesy of Bleecker Street Films)
“Treasure” is a surprising film, especially for those assuming that a movie with Stephen Fry and Lena Dunham would be a comedy. While both actors do employ plenty of humor in writer-director Julia von Heinz’s film, it’s ultimately a drama that looks squarely at the trauma that Holocaust survivors (and their children) carry with them.
The film opens in transit, with Edek (Fry) and his daughter Ruth (Dunham) landing at the airport in Poland. It’s 1991, and the trip is actually Ruth’s idea, wanting to see where Edek and her recently deceased mother grew up. She’s a little perplexed and perturbed that Edek wants to tag along, as the jovial man showed no interest in talking about his life in Poland when Ruth was growing up in New York.
Much of “Treasure,” based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Lily Brett, follows Edek and Ruth as they travel through Poland. Ruth is exasperated by Edek’s reticence to talk about his memories, and eagerness to treat the trip as a vacation rather than a pilgrimage. But his jocularity conceals repressed trauma that gradually reveals itself over the course of the trip, especially on a visit to Auschwitz when memories come flooding back.
This is a very unusual role for Fry, a British humorist and light comic actor, but he is convincing as a man with secrets behind his twinkling eyes. Dunham is also good in a more serious role than she usually gets, as Ruth struggles to make some kind of connection with her father.
While the subject matter is sobering, Von Heinz does find plenty of moments of observational humor about life in a recently-emancipated Soviet republic, such as the man at the train station sitting in front of the public bathrooms selling exactly three squares of toilet paper – no more, no less – to visitors. And the visuals capture both the chintzy opulence of Eastern European luxury hotels and the somber ruins of abandoned neighborhoods. When Edek hunts for a place he used to live as a child before the Nazis invaded, he is told by his guide, “The city you are looking for does not exist anymore.”
Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, is a much more successful attempt at this same story, funnier and with richer character details. “Treasure” also feels about 20 minutes too long at 110 minutes, one wishing both the emotional and physical journeys of these characters could go a little faster.
But “Treasure” is still an affecting film, and when those emotional breakthroughs arrive between father and daughter, they are well earned. It just takes a little while to get there, with some unlikely travelers.
“Treasure” is now playing in theaters. In Madison, it is playing at Marcus Point, Marcus Palace and AMC Fitchburg 18.
I’ve been curious about this one. I want to check out Eisenberg’s work too. It wasn’t uncommon for survivors to not want to talk about their experiences in the Holocaust or to completely close the door on that horrific chapter. What’s more surprising is that Fry’s character would venture back to Poland. 🇵🇱 I’ve missed Dunham since “Girls”!