"The Power of Love and Survival: Exploring the Themes of Family and Resilience in Julia von Aftermath's Treasure.

This excellent movie is Julia von Heinz's adaptation of the bestseller by Australian author Lily Brett, Treasure is the third part of her Aftermath trilogy, which deals with the effects of the Holocaust on subsequent generations

Edek (Stephen Fry) is a charmingly stubborn Holocaust survivor on a journey to his homeland accompanied by his daughter Ruth (Lena Dunham), a young American journalist. While Ruth is eager to make sense of her family’s past, Edek embarks his own agenda, setting up an emotional, funny culture clash of two New Yorkers exploring post-socialist Poland, a journey back through time that hurls both protagonists into extreme situations.

Treasure has a subtle message against the wave of anti-Semitism surging Europe, the simmering feeling of hatred that always seems to have been there and never completely eradicated.

Wonderful too is how the film retains a lightness of touch despite the serious subject matter, thanks to two great performances; what shines through is the love and respect dad and daughters clearly have one for another.

Deeply moving and without a trace of sentimentality, Treasure is one of the most convincing pictures I have seen about the complex, exhilarating, addictive and heart-breaking relationship of father and daughter and holocaust survivors. Fathers and daughters rarely hang out together—at least on screen—probably because the industry has been dominated by male industry. It is not a surprise to find a female director behind the camera exploring this subject, making Treasure a rare treasure.