Why My Father Died: A Daughter Confronts Her Family's Past at the Trial of Klaus Barbie

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Because You Were Nice to Me: The Krum father builds his son a play fort and allows the Ellingboe sisters to come over because, not too long ago, they took good care of him when he broke his leg. Top Header Source: Archives du department du Rhône et de la métropole de Lyon. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons. Manly Tears: Klaus is visibly (and barely) suppressing tears when telling Jesper about his late wife Lydia.

The first time we hear the Battle Bell marks the first time we witness the Krums and the Ellingboes fighting. The last time we hear a bell ringing, it's during Pumpkin and Olaf's wedding, marking the end of the family feud. Jesper attempts this in the climax when trying to get control of the bag of presents. It doesn't work out as planned. Our story begins with Jesper reclined in a chair whilst he lazes about, and it ends with him also reclining in a chair, but with the purpose of waiting for his friend.Another blink-and-you'll-miss-it example is when Jesper is walking into Klaus's house for the first time he passes his light through a shelf filled with toys. At the end of the shot, the light is still espoused on one of them: a wind-up frog toy. This wind-up frog toy would end up becoming the first gift Klaus wraps up and sends to a child not long after, leading to other kids sending letters to Klaus. Ghost Butler: When Jesper enters Klaus' house, the wind shuts the door behind him. The wind is implied to be Klaus' late wife in ghost form. After the war, Barbie burned off his SS identification tattoo and was captured briefly by the British before escaping. He presented himself to U.S. officers and was installed in a safe house in Augsburg for debriefing on his store of East-bloc intelligence. Klaus was released theatrically in select theaters on 8 November 2019, and was released digitally through Netflix on 15 November. [14] It is the first original animated feature film to appear on Netflix. [15] In January 2020, Netflix reported the film was watched by 40 million members over its first four weeks of release. [16] Reception [ edit ] Critical response [ edit ] When first meeting Márgu and hearing her talk, Jesper rather tactlessly asks, "What's wrong with her mouth?" not realizing she's speaking Saami. In the Norwegian dub, he instead simply asks "What is she saying?", as making this remark about the country's indigenous population would come across as much crueler than when an English-speaking person would say it.

Christophe de Roquefeuil: There was a lot of discussion, especially before the trial started, of whether it was necessary or not. Whether it was really necessary to stir up old ghosts; threaten Franco-German reconciliation; open old wounds and shine a light on French compromises during the war. After those testimonies in Lyon, I was more than convinced. The Barbie trial had to be held -- if for nothing else than to give Mrs. Benguigui but a whisper of justice by allowing her to speak of her children in her own words. Christophe de Roquefeuil: For me, the trial served as a reminder of one of the foundations of journalism -- the importance of eyewitnesses. When events are strong, they speak for themselves and writing should be minimal. You need to reconstruct the emotions of others, without betraying yours. Conflict Ball: After his less than selfless motivations are revealed, Jesper's friends are furious with him and remain so for a while. The only problem with this is that Jesper always stopped just shy of standing on the rooftops screaming that he wanted out of town and why, and when Klaus asked what was in it for him, didn't indicate otherwise. It's more than a little hypocritical on Alva's part, as she came into the film hostile, bitter, and doing everything in her power to get out of town (though at the very least, Alva still did honest work while Jesper manipulated children).He also was found guilty of deporting several hundred people on the last train to leave Lyon shortly before the Nazis retreated, and for his role in individual tortures, deportations and killings of 38 French Resistance activists and 21 Jews. While desperately searching for people to post letters to, Jesper finds an isolated house far outside the town. There, he discovers a tall reclusive woodsman named Klaus, who has a house filled with handmade toys. Terrified by Klaus' imposing appearance, Jesper flees, leaving behind a drawing he had found from one of Smeerensburg’s Krum children. Klaus forces Jesper to bring him to the house depicted in the drawing and then secretly delivers a toy to the boy inside, cheering him up. Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Klaus's late wife Lydia remains as a mystical presence around their home as the magical wind that sometimes guides Klaus to where he needs to go. Klaus himself is implied to have gone the same way at the end and, in the process, become the magical figure of Santa Claus to continue the tradition of Christmas Eve gift deliveries he and Jesper started. Word of this event spreads to other children and they go to Jesper the next day, each believing they will receive a toy if they send Klaus a letter. Jesper capitalizes on the idea and asks Klaus if he can donate his toys; Klaus agrees provided they operate at night and Jesper continues to deliver the toys in secret. The Krum boy's toy leads him to play with an Ellingboe girl, much to their clans’ outrage. Family elders Tammy Krum and Aksel Ellingboe soon find out it was Jesper and Klaus who delivered him the toy. Soon, more children begin writing letters to Klaus. When Jesper tells them Klaus only gives toys to good children and knows whenever any child misbehaves, the acts of kindness they perform gradually inspire the rest of the townsfolk to end their ancient dispute, and bitter teacher-turned-fishmonger Alva reopens her school to help children learn to read and write so they can send letters. So Proud of You: It happens offscreen, but it's still there. When Jesper explains everything that happened to his father, the Postmaster General hugs his son and allows him to continue his life in Smeerensburg because he has seen it has truly changed Jesper for the better.