Watch The Flat

The Flat is a 2011 Israeli documentary film directed by Arnon Goldfinger. It follows the journey of the filmmaker's family as they clean out the Tel Aviv flat of his grandmother, who had recently passed away. However, this seemingly simple task becomes much more perplexing when they uncover a vast collection of Nazi propaganda and unwelcome family secrets.

The film begins as a family drama, highlighting the various tensions and emotions that arise when loved ones are forced to deal with the possessions of a deceased relative. There is a palpable sense of sadness and nostalgia as Goldfinger and his mother sift through the detritus of their family history. However, this melancholic atmosphere is quickly upended when they come across a large trove of documents and ephemera that belonged to Goldfinger's grandparents, who had emigrated to Palestine from Germany in the 1930s.

At first, Goldfinger is intrigued by the discovery, and he begins to delve into the history of his grandparents' lives. He uncovers photographs, diaries, and letters that shed light on their past, as well as books and pamphlets that promote Nazi ideology. It soon becomes clear that Goldfinger's grandparents had been actively involved in the Nazi party before their emigration, and that they had maintained contact with former SS officers and war criminals even after settling in Israel.

As Goldfinger unravels the secrets of his family's past, he begins to confront uncomfortable truths about the nature of memory, identity, and guilt. He interviews family members, historians, and experts on Nazi Germany, attempting to piece together a coherent narrative of his grandparents' lives. However, he is constantly thwarted by the lack of clarity and consistency in the stories that people tell him.

The strongest aspect of The Flat is its exploration of the murky terrain of family history, and the ways in which our pasts are constructed and interpreted. Goldfinger's camera is unflinching as he captures the awkward interactions between family members as they attempt to make sense of their shared past. He is also adept at showing the complex web of emotions that surround memory, as people oscillate between nostalgia, defensiveness, and denial.

The film is also notable for its use of visual metaphor and symbolism. Goldfinger frequently juxtaposes shots of his grandmother's collection of kitschy knick-knacks with images of Nazi memorabilia, highlighting the dangerous allure of fascism and the ways in which it coexists with banal, everyday life. There are also several striking sequences in which Goldfinger walks through the streets of Tel Aviv, superimposed with old photographs of his grandparents, creating a sense of the ghosts of the past haunting the present.

One weakness of the film, however, is its haphazard structure. While the central mystery of Goldfinger's grandparents is compelling, the film often meanders between digressions and tangents. There are lengthy sections devoted to the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to the psychology of memory that feel disjointed from the rest of the narrative. Additionally, Goldfinger's attempts to tie together the disparate threads of his investigation occasionally feel forced and unconvincing.

Despite these flaws, The Flat is a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant exploration of the complexities of family history, the trauma of the Holocaust, and the ways in which the past shapes the present. Goldfinger is a skilled documentarian, and his willingness to confront uncomfortable truths about his family and his country make this film an important contribution to Israeli cinema.

The Flat is a 2012 documentary with a runtime of 1 hour and 37 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 6.9 and a MetaScore of 83.