Perfect Couple Stephen Fry and Lena Dunham
Already the queen of awkward comedy, Dunham's performance as Hannah Horvath on *Girls*, a show she developed, produced, and occasionally directed, solidified her as a polarizing emblem of early 2010s society. Fry has a long list of dramatic and humorous credits. Edek is a tough man who is lost inside himself and driven by loss. He is really flexing both muscles here. Part of Ruth's hilarious appeal and the curse of her life is his want to avoid delving too far into his past.
Edek tells the people he meets, drivers, bell boys, hotel concierges, that his daughter is well-known, but Ruth is simply a journalist occasionally interviewing notable people. Though it does to Ruth, the difference doesn't really matter to him. Dunham captures the gulf between Ruth and Edek really brilliantly. Ruth treats her father to a degree, but it is abundantly evident that they are at more of a crossroads than he is aware of given their differing conceptions of what this trip back to Poland should be.
The emotional narrative of Treasure disappears somewhere along the road.
Comparing emotional suffering is useless, but *Treasure* makes it quite evident that Ruth and Edek are suffering in rather different ways. Ruth turns to self-harm, Edek uses his outgoing nature to brush off emotional events. Brushing it off, though, we miss an opportunity to delve further into their suffering. Although we know why they both suffer, *Treasure* doesn't appear to know how to handle it. Given neither Edek nor Ruth do, it's appropriate.
Edek, thinking back on his history, Ruth still hurting from her divorce and the loss of her mother, hang on to this suffering since it is all they have known. The physical artifacts we hang on to also convey a certain melancholy; most of *Treasure* is about recovering stuff lost in time. And in the big picture, does a silver dish really matter? Simply based on your mother's usage, though? Whether we want to acknowledge it, it does.
If Only *Treasure* Could Get Us Where It Wishes Us to Travel
Though the underlying narrative doesn't dig in the way it needs to, both Dunham and Fry provide fantastic performances—a study in opposites that is poignant and intoxicating. If only *Treasure* could get us where it intends us to be. It contains all the correct components, however its approach of addressing these subjects lacks something. Though the surrounding narrative doesn't dig in the way it ought to, Dunham and Fry's performances are a study in opposites, heartbreaking and intoxicating. The calm of *Treasure* has wonderful moments when filmmaker Julia von Heinz's camera stays on a glance, object, or scene. But *Treasure* discovers it caught in the middle of these delicate events and a heavy-handed approach with emotion that has good intentions but does not result the same.
Though the narrative and ideas of *Treasure* should have been more fully investigated, there are many outstanding films that examine the effects of trauma on families and how it shapes their interaction. Having said that, the movie is worth seeing just from the outstanding performances.
Treasure: A Family Road Trip Is Pain Anywhere
Family car vacations are a hassle no matter what. Complicating matters further is using a family road trip to sort the pain and sadness left behind following death. Ruth (Lena Dunham) visits her Polish father Edek (Stephen Fry) in 1991, where he lived for most of his life until World War II upended it.
Treasure appears caught between two worlds: a father-daughter road trip comedy and a deeper reflection on loss, the past, and the way a horror like the Holocaust is handed down through the years. There's no reason it couldn't be both, yet in its balancing act it comes out flimsy on both sides.
Treasure: An Affecting Story That Still Does Not Connect
Directed by Julia von Heinz, Treasure stars Lena Dunham as American music journalist Ruth and Stephen Fry as her father Edek, a Holocaust survivor. Filmed in 1990, Ruth and Edek travel around Poland visiting his childhood haunts. Though the tale is emotionally relevant and the actors are moving, *Treasure* finally fails to really engage the viewer.
Treasure, which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2024, is expected to get attention from admirers of overseas independent films as well as of Dunham and Fry. Audiences should be advised, nevertheless, that *Treasure* is ultimately a movie that falls short of its potential even with a gifted cast.
