The Aftermath

Heart-wrenching performances punctuate this sophisticated, literary film about the messy aftermath of war. The film's title is a broad blanket that addresses the toll a war exacts on a city, a people, and families. Based on the novel by Rhidian Brook, it's a subtle emotional journey played to perfection by a cast who bring their A-game to complicated characters. Clarke's Col. Morgan is a stiff-upper-lip war hero who compartmentalizes the horrors he's seen and the loss he's experienced -- but can rip someone's heart out in the blink of an eye. Knightley is devastating as a woman who's struggling with her grief and loneliness so acutely that you might wish you could give her a hug (and an acting award). The script plays out like a psychology textbook in its most captivating form: Given human need and nature, it seems there was no other way for the dominoes to fall.

With impressive production design, director James Kent re-creates 1945 Hamburg and a situation few have likely considered: What was it like following the end of World War II, when the very people who razed a city to the ground had to live among the survivors to give them aid? Which of course, isn't the same thing as comfort -- and that's part of the complexity the viewer is forced to contemplate. What was the right thing to do? Could someone trust their former enemy? Is an entire nation responsible for the actions of its government? Can a person be complicit to evil and still be "good"? While parents may want to steer younger teens away from the film because of its mature visuals, The Aftermath concretely portrays the idea that, no matter which side claims victory, there's no winner in war.