Normally, when you think of a road trip comedy, you don’t think of a 90’s set film where Americans retrace their generational footsteps through Poland. Certainly, you don’t expect it to carry the weight of an older father showing his daughter, almost with unfettered pride,the land he grew up in before being forcibly removed during World War II. Certainly, you don’t expect this to turn into a film about death camps. But, Treasure, almost as vague as its title can be, is a journey best taken on a whim, with little known, and the expectations broadly expanded to allow yourself to have your own personal journey with the film.
Stephen Fry and Lena Dunham play the lead father/daughter duo, and they are unevenly matched. This films weakness is Dunham, who is just out of her depth against Fry, who delivers such an emotionally resonant performance, Treasure as a film becomes the gift given. Stephen Fry is at times playing a stubborn old man, set in his ways, but there are these moments of almost childlike wonder when he finds himself back where he grew up. it changes as he is faced with the reality that the war destroyed much of what he remembered, and what remains is a stark reminder that his family lost everything simply because of who they were. His father lost his factory, his childhood home is now occupied by someone else, who still uses the furniture left behind, and none of this bothered anyone. Stephen Fry is a revelation.
Dunham just lacks the experience to go on this level with Fry. It isn’t that she gives a bad performance, but it is so hard to not see her as disconnected and cold, even in moments where her character is trying to find connection, simply because Fry seems so enamored with the space around him at all times. he understands this role with such reverence that I could be convinced this was his own life story, and he was cathartically living it in real time.
I adored Treasure, and I’m pleased it has an audio description track so I can recommend it. Nicole Sansorella does the primary narration for Deluxe here, but as there are moments where English is not the primary language, luckily Deluxe brought in other voices to help narrate the translations so Nicole could stay on the primary narration. i think what really hit me with this narration is how it helped this film have such a strong emotional core. Not only does Poland feel like it comes to life, with all the locations visited, but the father is this fully realized character, right down to his shabbby jacket. I’m thinking Stephen Fry is an easy lock for my Top 10 best Actor performances for this year, but I’ve already amassed a small handful of performances I adore in that regard. The last part of the year is really going to need to give some major swings to knock someone like Fry off.
Final Grade: A-
