World War II movies remain a constant staple of the global film and television industry.  In the past year alone, we’ve seen a British humanitarian saving Jewish children in Czechoslovakia (One Life), a Nazi commandant living next door to the Auschwitz concentration camp (The Zone of Interest), a group of U.S. Air Force pilots bombing German targets inside Europe (Masters of the Air), and a British veteran comedically escaping from a retirement home to attend D-Day commemorations in Paris (The Great Escaper).

From Hilde, with Love is the latest addition to that list and is from director Andreas Dresen (Stopped on the Track).  It arrives in cinemas with positive buzz having premiered in competition at the Berlin Film Festival in February and being selected to open the German Film Festival here in Australia back in May.  It’s now receiving a limited release across the country for those who missed it earlier.

It’s based on the true story of Hilde Coppi (Fries), a 30-something-year-old German woman who was arrested and imprisoned by the Nazis in 1942 for being part of the Soviet-sympathising “Red Orchestra” group.  She and her close friends would distribute anti-war, anti-Nazi material across cities and would help send innocuous messages back to Russia using morse code.  The history books show there were roughly 150 individuals engaged in similar behaviour across Berlin.

I’ve seen better World War II films that offer deeper insight but From Hilde, with Love still has appeal.  We observe the actions of Hilde and her friends and can ask ourselves a series of questions.  Did they realise the risks they were taking?  Should they have better covered their tracks?  Did their efforts impact the resistance movement?  Was Hilde mislead by those around her?

I’m don’t think we get a complete picture of Hilde Coppi and the flashback scenes don’t provide enough information to understand her views and mindset (perhaps that was the intention of screenwriter Laila Steiler?)  The prison scenes, post her arrest, are more compelling as she navigates the uncertainty of her upcoming trial while also looking after a newborn baby (she gives birth in prison).  The friendship she builds with a female prison guard is the film’s most interesting subplot.

Starring 33-year-old Liv Lisa Fries, a household name in Germany for her work on the popular TV series Babylon Berlin, From Hilde, with Love is another reminder of World War II’s atrocities.