Annabel Jankel's new historical drama, Desperate Journey, arrives in UK cinemas on 28 November 2024, offering a poignant, if occasionally familiar, look at one young Jewish man's struggle for survival during the Second World War.
A Story of Survival and Glamour
The film, set against the backdrop of the 1938 Austrian Anschluss, follows the harrowing choices faced by the Jewish Knoller family. As the political situation deteriorates, the family makes the heart-wrenching decision to split up. One brother is sent to the safety of America, while the parents choose to remain behind—a decision with ominous implications. The youngest sibling, Freddie Knoller, played with an endearing openness by Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen, is left to fend for himself and make his way to safety.
Jankel employs a non-linear narrative, cutting between two key periods in Freddie's life. In one, we witness the sheer horror of him being forced on a death march with other Jewish prisoners. In the other, more hopeful timeline, we follow his desperate attempt to reach the United Kingdom by travelling through France.
Life in Wartime Paris
In his westward flight, Freddie finds himself in Paris, broke but still yearning for a taste of the city's famed glamour. His fortunes seem to change when he crosses paths with Christos (Fernando Guallar), a charismatic but untrustworthy fellow immigrant. This encounter leads Freddie to a morally complex job in the Opéra district.
Using his perfect, fluent German, Freddie's role is to persuade Nazi soldiers to visit the nightclub where he and Christos work. This is his risky strategy to earn enough money to pay for forged papers and secure his passage to freedom. The film delves into the tense, secretive world of Jews in exile, forced to conceal their identities to survive.
While Desperate Journey is based on the real-life story of Freddie Knoller, its narrative treads a path well-worn by countless other tales of Jewish exile in Europe during WWII. This reliance on familiar tropes, unfortunately, drains some of the distinctiveness and plausibility from what is otherwise a powerful true story.
The Cast and Creative Vision
The supporting cast adds further layers to the drama. Clara Rugaard co-stars as Jacqueline, a vampish cabaret singer who becomes Freddie's love interest and may be guarding her own secrets. Meanwhile, Til Schweiger appears as Officer Kurt, effectively playing the same menacing role he is known for, albeit a departure from his comedic turn in Muppets Most Wanted.
The film marks another intriguing turn in the eclectic career of director Annabel Jankel. She first gained recognition for directing The Max Headroom Show and the infamous 1993 Super Mario Bros. film. After a long hiatus, she re-emerged in 2019 with the literary lesbian love story Tell It to the Bees. Desperate Journey continues her pattern of delivering unexpected and varied cinematic projects.
Desperate Journey is scheduled for release in UK cinemas on 28 November 2024.
