Loot

This intriguing documentary from filmmaker Darius Marder turns a global treasure hunt into a vehicle for unexpected emotional catharsis, as a pair of unrelated World War II veterans—Darrel, who served in Europe, and Andrew, who fought in the Pacific—seek to find wartime loot that each stole and hid when overseas. Both men, now elderly and nearly blind, separately turn to used car salesman and amateur treasure hunter Lance Larson for help in their quest, and he enthusiastically accepts the challenge. Alternating between the two narrative strands, Loot travels to Austria, where in 1945 Darrel filled his pockets with jewelry from a bombed-out store and then stashed it in an abandoned house, and the Philippines, where Andrew claims to have buried valuables, including samurai swords obtained from a Japanese POW. Among the surprises that emerge during the two-plus years of filming are a bond that seems to develop between Darrel and a former German SS soldier who helps out in the search, and the long-repressed emotions that are unearthed for both former GIs as they pick through their memories of war. In addition, a shared experience of children tragically addicted to drugs leads to an unanticipated connection between Lance, Darrel, and Andrew. Emotionally affecting and occasionally humorous in spite of its dark and eccentric subject matter, Loot is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (M. Puffer-Rothenberg)