Charlotte (2022) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

Charlotte is set across several locations during the Nazi era, primarily in Berlin where the story begins, then moves to Wannsee and Sachsenhausen as the family faces persecution. The family eventually escapes to the French Riviera (Nice and Côte d'Azur), with the epilogue referencing Auschwitz.

• berlin
• wannsee
• sachsenhausen
• nice
• french riviera
• auschwitz
• setting locations

The film is set during the 1930s and 1940s, beginning with the rise of Nazi Germany and continuing through World War II. Key events include Kristallnacht and the Holocaust, ending with the protagonist's death in Auschwitz.

• 1930s
• 1940s
• world war 2
• nazi germany
• kristallnacht
• holocaust era

Charlotte explores three core themes: Identity, as Charlotte defines herself beyond nationality amid persecution; Art as Resistance, showing how her painting 'Life? Or Theatre?' becomes a way to bear witness and preserve memory; and Family & Loss, depicting the profound tragedies the Salomon family endures including suicide and the brutal coercions of the Nazi regime.

• identity
• art as resistance
• family loss
• persecution
• memory
• selfhood
• themes

Charlotte Salomon is a young, passionate painter (voiced by Keira Knightley) living in Berlin during the Nazi rise to power. She is expelled from the Academy due to anti-Semitic policies and ultimately creates a powerful visual diary documenting her era before dying in Auschwitz.

• charlotte Salomon
• painter
• artist
• keira knightley
• protagonist

Art serves as Charlotte's form of resistance and survival. Her paintings, particularly 'Life? Or Theatre?', become a way to document her family's suffering and preserve memory when destruction looms. The act of creation itself resists erasure, turning personal trauma into cultural memory.

• art
• painting
• life or theatre
• resistance
• memory
• visual diary
• artistic expression

Ottilie Moore (played by Sophie Okonedo) is an American woman who becomes a patron and refuge for the Salomon family. She offers shelter on the Côte d'Azur and provides connection to a wider world, helping the refugees escape the escalating danger in Europe.

• ottilie moore
• sophie okonedo
• patron
• refuge
• american
• french riviera

Charlotte's key family includes her father Albert Salomon (Eddie Marsan), who is interned at Sachsenhausen; her stepmother Paula Lindberg-Salomon (Helen McCrory); her grandfather Grosspapa (Jim Broadbent) who moves the family to Nice; and her grandmother Grossmama (Brenda Blethyn), who suffers from mental illness and commits suicide.

• albert Salomon
• paula lindberg Salomon
• grosspapa
• grossmama
• family members
• sachsenhausen

Alfred Wolfsohn (Mark Strong) is Paula's vocal teacher and confidant who comforts Charlotte after her expulsion from the Academy. He asks her to illustrate his wartime memoirs, becoming an important mentor figure during her artistic development.

• alfred wolfsohn
• mark strong
• vocal teacher
• mentor
• confidant

Alexander Nagler (Sam Claflin) is Charlotte's love interest, depicted as a groundskeeper. He ultimately reveals his Jewish identity to marry Charlotte, representing the forbidden romance element of the story.

• alexander nagler
• sam claflin
• love interest
• romance
• husband
• jewish identity

The film portrays the Holocaust through the Salomon family's experience: escalating anti-Semitic persecution in Berlin, Kristallnacht, Albert's internment at Sachsenhausen, the family's flight to France, and ultimately deportation. The narrative ends with Charlotte's death at Auschwitz, creating a stark contrast between her defiant artistic hope and the horrific historical reality.

• holocaust
• persecution
• deportation
• auschwitz
• sachsenhausen
• nazi regime
• historical context

'Life? Or Theatre?' is Charlotte's autobiographical painting series that serves as a visual diary of her life, family, and experiences during the Nazi era. It represents her attempt to preserve memory and bear witness through art, becoming her legacy despite her tragic fate in Auschwitz.

• life or theatre
• painting series
• visual diary
• autobiographical
• legacy
• Charlotte Salomon artwork