Woman in Gold

Move a little to the left, please.

Adele, you are restless.

I worry too much, you know that.

About what?

The future.

My sister, Luise, we really loved each other,

but the truth is we were always competing.

If life is a race, then she has beaten me to the finishing line.

But if it is a boxing match,

then I am the last one standing.

Either way, we went through a great deal together,

and I will miss you.

Auf Wiedersehen, lie be Schwester.

Barbara, thank you so much for coming. It means a lot to me.

Our families go back a long way.

Your son, the lawyer, how is he?

Oh, struggling, I'm afraid.

After law school, he went to work for a fancy firm,

and then decided to go out on his own in Pasadena.

- And what happened? - It all fell apart.

Oh...

Add those debts to seven years of student loans, and things aren't great.

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that.

You need a lawyer?

Just some letters I found in my sister's belongings.

I need advice from someone I can trust.

I'll have him call you.

I really feel...

I really feel like, with a firm such as this, sir, that I... I would be...

ready and willing to...

Hello?

No, not a, not a, not a good time, Mom.

Not a good time; I'll call, call you later.

Well, she's got all of the reports...

Hi, Randy Schoenberg here to see Bergen, Brown and Sherman.

- Okay. - I'd like to make

the most of the opportunities offered here.

With a firm as impressive as this, I'd be extremely motivated

to deliver my very best each and every day.

You any relation to the famous composer, Schoenberg?

Arnold was my grandfather, sir.

But he died before I was born.

His music demands a certain quality of application.

But the rewards validate the effort.

One of the things I'd most look forward to about, uh,

working here is exploring your larger scale...

And Judge Schoenberg is your father.

Retired now, yes, sir.

Outstanding lineage, Mr. Schoenberg.

Yes, sir.

What happened in Pasadena?

Well, I took a risk.

Set up my own law firm, and it didn't pay off, you know.

Working for yourself isn't all it's hyped up to be.

So now you're ready to work with others?

Yes, sir.

Well, let's give it a go, Mr. Schoenberg.

Thanks, Mom.

I was expecting you at 6:00. It's ten past.

My apologies, Mrs. Altmann. It was gridlock on Wilshire.

You look tired and stressed, but you're not bad-looking.

You were such a skinny boy.

Thank you.

So, what do you know about art restitution?

Not a thing.

Well, it's never too late to learn.

Why don't you come on inside.

Have some strudel. I made it specially for you.

My sister is the pretty little girl on the left, Luise.

And I am the moody one, next to her.

My parents, Therese and Gustav.

My uncle Ferdinand, who owned a sugar company,

and his wife, Aunt Adele, who died so young.

Sit with me, Maria.

Adele didn't have any children,

so we all lived together as one family.

In a way, I had two sets of parents.

Try to smile, Maria.

It's good to exercise your facial muscles once a year.

The Bloch-Bauers.

I found these letters amongst my sister's belongings.

Look, I've translated them for you, on the back.

Hm.

1948?

From our family lawyer in Vienna, Johann Rinesch.

All about our paintings that were stolen by the Nazis.

Okay.

I read in The New York Times

that things are changing in Austria.

How are they changing?

They're redrafting the art restitution laws.

Reviewing old cases.

My sister finally moves in with me.

The only problem is she decides to do it when she's dead.

Well, at least you won't be having any arguments that way.

What I mean is-is that, you know how roommates,

they tend to argue about dishes in the sink and stuff and...

and you won't be having any arguments,

because, about dishes, 'cause, you know...

'cause she's dead.

So...

I'm so sorry. I'm... I was

trying... I was making a joke and it didn't, uh...

Ah, here she is.

My Aunt Adele.

My uncle commissioned Gustav Klimt to paint her.

That's quite a painting.

It's magnificent.

She was taken off the walls of our home by the Nazis,

and since then, she's been hanging

in the Belvedere Gallery in Vienna.

And now you'd like to be reunited.

Wouldn't that be lovely?

Make you a rich woman, I'm sure.

You think that's what this is about?

No, I have to do what I can to keep these memories alive.

Because people forget, you see.

Especially the young.

And then, of course, there's justice.

I bored you to tears tonight.

Four times you looked at your watch.

You know, this was a test and we both failed.

I'm sorry. I-I-I, I'm sorry I wasted your time.

I got a new job today.

A baby that keeps me up at night, a wife I want to make happy.

So why would you be interested in ancient history?

Good-bye, my dear.

Struwwelpeter.

Struwwelpeter, the book that you had in your hand.

My grandmother used to read that to me.

Terrifying... the-the one about the boy who gets swept away by the wind.

Into a terrible adventure.

Used to frighten me, too.

Why don't you just take a look at these,

and tell me if I have a case.

That's all I ask from you.

"11th of April, 1948.

Dear Luise Bloch-Bauer..."

That's her sister.

"The Austrian government has decided

"they will hold on to the Klimt portrait of your aunt

"and four other Klimts which they insist

"were bequeathed to the gallery in her will,

"a fact which they claim as incontestable.

"The will itself...

"I have not seen...

"despite my persistent attempts to do so.

Yours sincerely, Johann Rinesch."

Her lawyer never saw the will?

Nobody saw the will.

Randy!

Hi, Mrs. Altmann. Hi.

Uh, we just, we just need to photocopy these

just over here, okay?

Everybody here looks as if they're having nervous breakdowns.

They are, they are.

I was up till 3:00 a.m. I did a little research for you.

I'm impressed.

Get someone on the ground in Vienna.

For the first time in 50 years, they've opened up the archives,

so you start by trying to find a copy of Adele's will.

- Yes, and then what? - The Austrian Ministry of Culture...

will set up a committee to review each case individually,

but you need to fill out an application

for them to consider you claim by the end of next month...

- at the latest. - Next month?

At the latest, yes; I've already sent away for the form.

Slow down. You can explain everything to me...

- over lunch. - No.

- Mrs. Altmann, I can't do lunch. - I know a very nice place.

They do excellent rice pudding.

All right, these are three names

of the top restitution lawyers in America.

They're gonna cost you, but without them it's a nonstarter.

No, no, all I have is my shop, my bungalow and a little money

I saved up for a new dishwasher.

No, I can't go throwing cash at fancy lawyers.

Right, I-I have to go, so...

Can't you just help me out a little bit, on the side?

You know, like a hobby.

There is no "on the side" here, Maria.

This is a full-time job; This is not a hobby.

You are quite rude, you're a little uncouth,

and you are completely disinterested in the past.

And you have an unusual talent for making me feel good about myself.

But you have the connection.

What connection?

Family, Randy.

Your grandparents came here from Austria.

You see, we share the same history.

Oh, how can you see out of those glasses?

They're filthy.

Yes, that's better. Help you see more clearly.

I see this as a possible investment for the firm.

You really think a painting that ends up as a fridge magnet

will ever leave Austria?

I think it'd be a mistake not to take a look.

One week, max.

Thank you. Thank you, sir.

I want you back here on the third.