It is commonly said that a picture says a thousand words. But have you ever considered the idea that a picture holds a thousand memories? That a few strokes of a paintbrush can immortalize a person?

The Woman In Gold, a powerful and beautiful movie directed by Simon Curtis, follows the true story of a woman named Maria Altmann who, with the help of a family friend and lawyer Randol Schoenberg, takes the Austrian government to court in order to gain her rightful ownership of paintings stolen from her family during World War II. The movie starts in 1998 with the death Altmann’s sister and the revival of repressed memories concerning the destruction and humiliation of Maria’s family along with all other discriminated peoples in Europe during the war. In an epic battle for justice, Mrs. Altmann and Mr. Schoenberg take the Austrian government to court in order to reunite a woman with the remains of her family history and to put to rest the horrors of the past.

During World War II, as Nazis imprisoned and attempted to eradicate the existence of all Jews, Gypsies, Poles, Slavs, and those with physical or mental disabilities, they illegally captured over 100,000 pieces of art. Among the captured were five paintings, created by Gustav Klimt, that rightfully belonged to the Bauer family. The most famous of the paintings was a portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, originally titled “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I.” After its confiscation, the masterpiece was renamed “The Woman In Gold” to dissociate the portrait from a Jewish family. From the time of its capture in the 1940s to 2006, Adele’s portrait was known as the “Mona Lisa” of Austria and proudly (and illegally) displayed in a museum in Vienna.

Throughout the movie, there are a number of flashbacks to Maria’s childhood and young adulthood allowing the audience to see her transition from a carefree and happy little girl to a trapped, lost, and strong young woman. As an audience member you feel joy during the wedding of Maria and Fritz, you feel suspense as they race through the streets of Austria to escape Nazi soldiers, and you feel pain as you witness Jews cleaning the streets of Vienna with acid and writing “Jew” on the windows of their shops.

In the present, you embark on the relentless quest for the buried evidence and proof that all items seized by Hitler’s soldiers do not rightfully belong to the government of Austria. The story has many ups and just as many downs, showing that while many people want past mistakes to be righted, others would like to keep things the way that they are. Despite the hardships, Maria and Randol prove to be perfect partners with their undying hope and drive for the cause that they fight for.

It wasn’t just Ryan Reynolds’s good looks or Helen Mirren’s outstanding performance that made this movie unbelievable. “The Woman In Gold” is an incredible story because it shows that no matter what stands in your way, the desire to stand up for what is right can overcome any obstacle.