Film Review: I’ll Find You

ARTS&LIFE

FILM REVIEW

I’ll Find You

In war-torn Europe, one man stops at nothing to save the love of his life.

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Connie Nielsen as Lena Moser-Drabowska in I’ll Find You.

In the World War II romance and musical I’ll Find You, love conquers all.

Set for theatrical release on Feb. 25, the 1-hour and 56-minute film — inspired by the true stories of musicians in 1930s and 1940s Poland — offers a heartwarming twist on the classic Romeo and Juliet story, this time set in the midst of war-torn Europe.

Since childhood, Catholic opera singer Robert Pulaski (Leo Suter) and Jewish violinist Rachel Rubin (Adelaide Clemens) have been inseparable. The film, directed by Martha Coolidge and filmed in Krakow and Lodz, opens just before the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland.

We begin the film by learning about the ever-evolving story of Pulaski and Rubin. Pulaski, absent for two years following an awkward kiss with Rubin where he professes his love to her, finally returns home. Yet he finds Rubin moved on with her life, engaged to a Jewish man, David Rosenfeld, until Pulaski’s unexpected visit changes plans — and Rubin’s feelings.

Jumping back in time, I’ll Find You travels to the childhood years of Pulaski and Rubin, when they first meet watching a street performer put on a show with a bear. Rubin, fiery and opinionated, tells Pulaski how awful it is that a bear should perform like that, while Pulaski argues that the bear could have a much worse fate — he could have been hunted instead.

Pulaski then heads to music school, where he is a new student. Unsurprisingly, Rubin walks through the door, enrolled in the same class as Pulaski. Immediately, the two are at odds. Rubin, who excels at violin, overshadows Pulaski, who at the time hasn’t truly found his calling in music. Pulaski complains to his father that he wants to quit music but continues anyway.

At the school, the music students practice in a secret room, hidden behind a bookcase and unlockable with a key nestled inside a book on Chopin. Later, this room would come to serve a much more important purpose; but for now, it’s where Pulaski finally begins to drop his defense.

Performing at a Christmas event, Pulaski finally draws up the courage to apologize to Rubin, who accepts the gesture. At the same event, Pulaski sings and stuns the room with his incredible opera voice, a voice that he didn’t realize he had. Pulaski’s true musical talent is finally revealed, putting him in the same ranks as Rubin as he embraces opera singing.

Growing up, the two dream of performing together at the legendary Carnegie Hall in New York City. Yet as the film fast-forwards to the present, when they’re once again adults, their dreams are put on hold as news of an imminent German invasion takes hold of Poland.

Stellan Scarsgard

PHOTOS BY JAROSLAW SOSISNSKI

ESCAPING POLAND

Realizing time is limited and growing closer to Rubin following his return, Pulaski tells her she shouldn’t marry Rosenfeld, that he’s not right for her. As both families plan their

ARTS&LIFE

FILM REVIEW

Weronika Rosat and Stephen Dorff

continued from page 49 escape from Poland, Rubin realizes Pulaski is right and that in fact, she’s in love with him, not Rosenfeld.

But the Germans aren’t far off, and Rubin’s family finally comes to a decision to leave for Zurich, while Pulaski’s family aims to escape to Paris. The Rubins plan to leave the following morning, but a German air raid overnight changes their plans. Jews are rounded up; and in the midst of the chaos, the Rubins are led to safety in the secret music room, where they remain hidden.

However, their whereabouts are tipped off. Soon after, Nazis raid the hiding space, loading the Rubin family in trucks and sending them to Auschwitz. Pulaski, witnessing the roundup from afar but too late to warn the family, vows to find Rubin, the love of his life.

Stopping at nothing, Pulaski travels to Germany with the help of the Polish resistance, posing as an opera singer who will perform at Auschwitz for Nazi soldiers. As he sings at Auschwitz, Rubin stands behind him, recruited by the Nazis to play violin. To save their lives, neither acknowledges one another, but Pulaski and his conductor, Benno Moser (Stellan Skarsgard), hatch a plan to save Rubin.

Moser, who visits a Nazi official in private, claims Rubin is his illegitimate daughter and, therefore, only half-Jewish. He pays him off for her safe return, a seemingly foolproof plan. Yet the Nazi Moser bargains with is arrested, and both are shot before Rubin is released from Auschwitz.

Pulaski runs for his life, hiding in a nearby barn where a family discovers him and offers him safety. He continues to seek out Rubin, finally learning that she was transferred to Bergen Belsen, sent on a death march and evacuated to New York with a group of Polish refugees.

Traveling to America after the war, Pulaski tracks Rubin through the Joint Distribution Committee. Finally reuniting once and for all, Pulaski found the love of his life as promised.

With a touch of historical footage, beautiful cinematography and a moving storyline, I’ll Find You”is a triumphant tale of resistance, courage and love in a time where none seem possible.

Adelaide Clemens and Jacob Ifan in I’ll Find You.

WITOLD BACZYK

I’ll Find You opens Feb. 25 at theaters and On-Demand .