Open City

As Julius’s plane prepares to land in New York, the view out of the window reminds him of the model of New York City that he saw at the Queens Museum of Art, which, despite having been update several times since it was constructed in 1964, still included the World Trade Center towers.

The next day, a Sunday, Julius dreads how he will be treated at work after being on a long vacation. He goes to the International Center of Photography, where there is an exhibit by the Hungarian photographer Martin Munkacsi. When he uses his expired med school ID to get a discounted student ticket, he’s reminded of how his ex, Nadège, used to get irritated with him for doing so. He encounters an old man from Berlin who talks to him about a magazine on display. Julius thinks about how he would not tell the man that his mother and oma were refugees in Berlin. The man ends their conversation to help an old woman.

As Julius is looking at a photograph of Nazi propagandist Josef Goebbels, he sees a couple of Hasidic Jews also looking at the same picture and wonders about their feelings. He moves on quickly, feeling like he intruded on their moment of facing trauma.