IN 2011, the 70th anniversary of the events it tells, German film-maker Markus Rosenmuller made this memorial to the 1.5 million Jewish children murdered by the Nazis.

In a small Ukranian town, violinist Abrascha and pianist Larisssa, Jewish children under the tutelage of teacher Irina, have shown themselves to be talented musicians. Hannah, daughter of the German manager of the local brewery, has musical ambition, as yet only developing. The three form a sweet and innocent friendship.

After Hitler refutes his non-aggression pact with Stalin, communists – now an underground opposition – and Jews, unaware of the fate awaiting them, become vassals of the occupying Wehrmacht with Col. Schwartow exercising over-arching power. Schwartow has no notion of the immorality embedded in Nazi racial laws which override his cultural enthusiasms.

Schwartow offers Abrascha and Larissa safety if they deliver a faultless public performance. Hindsight is both an advantage and a drawback. We know there will be no happy ending. Presenting a view different from most dealing with its time and place, the film’s focus on the children‘s gentle innocence makes Schwartow’s cynical rigging of the deal, all the more cruel.

The narrative neither hurtles toward resolution nor wastes time getting to the nub of its issue. Its portents of tragedy don’t diminish its emotional power. While not a film to enjoy in the conventional sense, it offers unexpected rewards that linger.

At Greater Union