Costuming In Remembrance Directed By Anna Justice

The film Remembrance, directed by Anna Justice, tells the story of Hannah Silberstein and Tomasz Limanowski, who escaped from Auschwitz concentration camp during WWII. They later get separated and reunite after more than thirty years apart. The film centers on the love the two have for each other and how it lasted through those terrible times and even when both thought the other was dead. The director uses a number of elements in the movie to establish the relationship between these two characters and their interactions with others, though one stands out above others—costuming. In the text Film Art: An Introduction, the authors stated that “costumes may reinforce narrative and thematic patterns” (Bordwell 121). Throughout Remembrance, costuming

With the uniform on, he simply walks out the gate with Hannah. Though this uniform represents the very people that did all those awful acts, it becomes a means of salvation for them both. Furthermore, when Hannah and Tomasz finally come to civilization, one of the first things they do is find new clothes to wear; the very uniform that Tomasz used to escape is now a way of identifying him. The moment that they get new clothes is the moment that they both feel that they may get out of this situation alive. When Hannah gets her clothes and talks about what she plans to do with them, we see her smile for the first time since the start of them movie. Also, shortly after this scene they become intimate for the first time since the escape; the clothes give them a sense of freedom, if only

There they encounter Tomasz’s mother who quickly expresses her distaste for Hannah, as she is a Jew. Tomasz soon must go and leaves Hannah with her, but as soon as the mother gets the opportunity, she, in a way, sets Hannah up to be found. When this fails, though, Hannah doesn’t say a word; she simply takes two things as she leaves, a dress from the wardrobe and a picture of Tomasz from the nightstand. Hannah takes the dress not only because she is in need of new clothes, but because she wants to express her anger towards her. Hannah could not protest her treatment at the concentration camp, but she is more than capable of showing defiance towards Tomasz’s mother. Hannah is tired of people treating her as lesser than, and this is her way of fighting against