LAST summer, a war of words broke out as Shoreham Airport was draped in Nazi flags for the filming of scenes for a Hollywood movie shortly before the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

Today, the movie, Woman in Gold, starring Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds and Katie Holmes, is released in cinemas, with the airport (now known as Brighton City Airport) doubling as the wartime Berlin Airport.

Inspired by real events, the movie tells the story of one woman’s journey to reclaim her heritage and seek justice for what happened to her family in the Second World War.

Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren) stars as an elderly Jewish woman attempting to recover family treasures seized by the Nazis, among them Klimt’s famous 1907 oil, silver and gold painting The Lady in Gold, a portrait of Maria’s aunt Adele Bloch-Bauer, who was friends with the artist.

Also appearing is Randy Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds) who plays a young lawyer and Daniel Brühl alongside Tatiana Maslany from TV series Orphan Black, Max Irons, Charles Dance, Elizabeth McGovern and Jonathan Pryce.

In real life, the painting was reportedly sold in 2006 for $135million, the most expensive at the time, to the owner of the Neue Galerie in New York City, where is has been on display ever since.

The movie, produced by Harvey Weinstein and directed by Simon Curtis, is on general release today.