MY MOTHER’S COURAGE (MUTTERS COURAGE) European Union Film Showcase

At a celebration Gf his eightieth birthday in
Berlin, the renowned writer/director
George Tabori tells the true story of what
happened to his mother, Elsa, fifty years
before in Budapest: … On a hot summer’s
day in 1944 Elsa Tabori is stopped in the
street by two elderly secret policemen,
who handcuff her and inform her that she
is being deported. She offers no resistance,
and is brought to the train station,
where hundreds of people are being
processed for deportation … The deportees
are herded onto cattle wagons under the
detached gaze of a young German officer.
When the people are disembarked at
the border to await the arrival of another
train, Mrs. Tabori is urged by a neighbor
to plead her innocence. Against all her
instincts, she approaches the German officer.
Astonishingly, he agrees to let her
return to Budapest and puts her back on
the train. -Production notes