“She was spectacularly brave”

As a film enthusiast and history buff, I must say that “Lee” is a movie not to be missed. Kate Winslet delivers another stellar performance as the fearless and trailblazing Lee Miller, an American war photographer who captured history with her lens.


Lee is in cinemas now. Add it to your watchlist.

In the latest movie titled “Lee“, Kate Winslet delivers another outstanding portrayal, this time as the famed American combat photographer Lee Miller.

As a passionate film enthusiast, let me share an intriguing tale about a photographer named Miller. Before his war-time exploits, he was renowned for his fashion, fine art, and surrealist photography in the vibrant city of Paris. However, it was during the tumultuous era of the Second World War that he found himself documenting the conflict for the prestigious Vogue magazine. In this capacity, he managed to capture a series of photographs that have since taken on immense historical significance, serving as crucial evidence of the horrific atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis.

The central part of the movie revolves around a specific phase in Lee’s life, yet the narrative structure uses an introductory and concluding device where an older Lee is seen sharing her personal experiences during an interview.

Curious about her thoughts, we pondered what Winslet could potentially ask Miller if given the opportunity. To satisfy our curiosity, we posed this question to her in a special interview with RT.

She responded by saying, “There are numerous questions I’d like to ask her,” but instead focused on just one specific query.

“I think I would probably ask her, ‘How did it really feel to get into Hitler’s bath?’

Since Davy Sherman, a photojournalist for Life magazine, captured an iconic photograph of her during the war, and they were inseparable, they managed to gain unauthorized access to Hitler’s residence.

She went on to say: “At that time, Hitler had already disappeared. He’d fled to his hideout in Berlin. This occurred on the day the liberation of Dachau took place, and Lee and Davy were there in the morning. They were among the earliest arrivals, and they later went to Munich. She was aware of where his apartment was located.

In another room, a regiment was celebrating. She discovered a bathroom and decided to use it. Upon turning on the faucet, she found hot water. For six weeks, they had avoided using hot water for washing or changing clothes. Naturally, she decided to take a bath.

After recognizing it as a valuable discovery, she summoned Davy to capture the moment, and he, too, ended up in the photograph while bathing. I can’t help but wonder, ‘What must have been running through her mind at that moment?’ Her courage was truly remarkable.

“She was spectacularly brave”

Movie Director Ellen Kuras, a long-standing companion of Winslet’s who had worked with her before on the film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” as its cinematographer, admitted she too struggled to pick just one question for the interview.

Lee Miller’s life has numerous facets,” she noted. “Should I have the chance to converse with Lee Miller herself, my curiosity would lead me to inquire about her career as a photographer, her beginnings as a surrealist artist, and her motivations for venturing onto the battlefield… I would be intrigued to know what factors influenced her desire to explore the backstage instead of focusing on the actual battles.

I’m curious to know more about the inspiration behind it. I’d love to hear her discuss this, along with her passionate dedication to uncovering truth and sharing it honestly. Furthermore, I’m interested in understanding how she felt about all of this when she returned, and what insights she gained about her own life from the experience.

For quite some time, Winslet has nurtured a deep-rooted interest in the project titled “Lee.” Over a span of eight years, she meticulously crafted this film. The genesis of this concept took root in her after purchasing an auctioned table that belonged to Lee’s former residence and was once occupied by a host of surrealist artists like Man Ray, Paul Éluard, and Max Ernst, among others.

“She was spectacularly brave”

She acknowledged that she was well-acquainted with Lee Miller and many aspects of her photography, yet she emphasized that a crucial decade in her life remained largely overlooked or under-discussed.

Throughout her career, she was often perceived through a male perspective. She’s frequently portrayed as Man Ray’s former muse, a past cover girl, and a model, labels that can seem condescending and overly simplistic, reflecting only a small aspect of her life during her 20s.

After purchasing the table, she found herself pondering why nobody had produced a movie about Miller’s life, and ultimately resolved to tackle this gap herself.

Nine years have passed, and now I understand why no movie has been made about Lee Miller, she explained.

Due to the challenge in pinpointing the significant phase of her life that I found most intriguing, it was remarkable how she, as a woman, braved the battlefield during World War II, navigating bureaucratic hurdles, and exposing the horrors of the Nazi regime for the female audience of Vogue.

She was unwilling to conceal the truth and was relentless in her pursuit until she uncovered it.

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2024-09-13 16:04