“I’ll Find You” is a doomed love story that’s set in Poland with a Catholic hero promising his beloved Jewish girlfriend that despite the arrival of the bloodthirsty, murderous Nazis invasion that they will “always be together.”
Directed by Martha Coolidge the story is about violinists Rachel Rubin (Adelaide Clemens) and Robert Pulaski (Leo Suter) who first meet, as children, while attending a top music school (in Lodz) that’s run by Lena (Connie Nielsen).
Told in flashback, very effectively, they see each other as worthy competitors and spend all their time fighting until they finally realize just how much they have in common. There the seeds of love are first deposited and they become inseparable, for years, until Robert leaves to study opera in Italy, and Rachel is forced, by her parents, to marry a man they consider “suitable: — David (Jacob Ifan).
But it’s hard to stop the passion for true love and when Robert returns (in 1939) Rachel can’t pretend that she’s still in love with him, and is torn, as her entire family is preparing to join David in Switzerland but the Nazis arrive just hours before the two can make their escape.
Robert is devastated and alone, and in an effort to help he joins the resistance and becomes an apprentice to an opera star (Stellan Skarsgård) who has deep connections to the Nazis. He’s so heartbroken, in an effort to search for Rachael he performs inside a concentration camp hoping to locate her inside.
This film marks Suter's first leading role in a film and it shows. He’s unable to show any hidden depth to his character and to that end, the film struggles to truly feel like a romantic drama. The screenplay is written by David S. Ward (t “The Sting” and “Sleepless in Seattle”) and Bozenna Intrator so the structure was there for the actor to stand upon.
Clemens, on the other hand, imbues Rachel with a wider stretch of emotion and here, we do feel, the chemistry from her side, at least.
Skarsgård is sadly underused and is part of another solid supporting cast that includes Stephen Dorff as a Nazi general. Director Coolidge, whose credits include “Valley Girl” and “Rambling Rose” to the Emmy-winning “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge” does a solid job and uses the on-location sites perfectly.
Cinematographer Alexander Gruszynski (“The Craft”) paints a beautiful picture that’s lush and warm and matches seamlessly with the carefully researched costumes. This is first-rate art and production design.
The opera scenes use professionals dubbing Skarsgård and Suter and the music is perfectly blended into the fabric of the story. The soundtrack is composed primarily of performances from the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.
“I’ll Find You” is a good movie and will provide you with just enough romance to make this a worthwhile watch especially if you love music and period romantic dramas.
“I’ll Find You” — 16 min — directed by Martha Coolidge.
Producers: Bozenna Intrator | Lukasz Raczynski | Zbigniew John Raczynski .
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