Lore (film)

Lore is a 2012 German-Australian historical drama film directed by Cate Shortland. It is based on the short story "The Dark Room" from the collection The Eye of the Storm by English author Rachel Seiffert.

The film follows Lore, a teenage girl in Germany at the end of World War II, as she leads her younger siblings across the country to their grandmother's house after their Nazi parents are arrested. As they journey through a devastated landscape, facing hunger and danger, Lore is forced to confront the reality of her parents' ideology and the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime. She also encounters a young Jewish man, Thomas, who helps them survive, challenging her preconceived notions and forcing her to re-evaluate everything she has ever known.

Lore was selected as the Australian entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards, and was shortlisted, but not nominated. The film was critically acclaimed for its cinematography, performances, and its unflinching portrayal of the aftermath of World War II from the perspective of German children. It explores themes of innocence, guilt, survival, and the shattering of naive beliefs in the face of historical trauma.