at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
Cinema of East Germany
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DEFA Film Library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Cinema of East Germany |
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Films by Andreas Dresen Silent Country (Stilles Land) Up until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989
and the subsequent collapse of communist rule in East Germany, the most anyone
in the outlying regions of that country knew about its overall situation was
that nothing in their lives had changed. Everything went on just as it always
had. In this story, set around that time, a naive, young and enthusiastic
drama-school graduate has been given the job of directing a theater group in a
grim, super-conservative factory town. His spirits are undaunted when the locals
beat him up in bars when he orders tea instead of beer or by the evident lack of
enthusiasm his theater company has for producing a revival of Waiting for
Godot. However, when the winds of change sweep through the country and
through his troupe, while everyone else is given a new lease on life, it begins
to seem as though he has lost something essential to the continuation of his.
Changing Skins
(Raus aus der Haut) Set in East Germany in 1977, during the infamous Red Army Faction kidnapping of industrialist Hanns-Martin Schleyer in West Germany. A couple of East German teens are caught with contraband photos of West German Baader-Meinhof terrorists. In an attempt to divert the harsh punishment promised, they improvise an RAF-style kidnapping of the school principal. Night Shapes (Nachtgestalten) The Pope may be visiting the city, but the
night is anything but heavenly for some Berlin people. Hanna is one of the
city's homeless people; by chance, she happens to find 100 marks and plans to
spend the money on a night in a hotel with her friend. Farmer Jochen is visiting
Berlin and looking for female company. He finally lands up with Patty, a teenage
prostitute. Peschke is a totally burned-out businessman on his way to pick up a
foreign visitor at the airport, but fails to find him. They are all "nightbeings"
- "Nachtgestalten" - in search of a little good luck, all on an amusing, but
also devastating trip through Berlin in the nineties. The Policewoman (Die Polizistin) A young policewoman arrives in Rostock,
straight out of police college, and is confronted with major social and human
problems in a totally new job environment. Her own efforts to understand the
underdogs and her search for a little warmth create new problems. A realistic
portrait of the life of a policewoman. Grill Point - (Halbe Treppe) Everyday life of two acquainted couples in
Frankfurt on the Oder who hang out at the pub, work at a radio station and in
sales. For no apparent reason, one of the husbands falls in love with the other
wife. The betrayed partners are furious, helpless, hurt. The new couple is
already looking for a new flat, but the husband ultimately returns to his wife.
The other husband, however, will remain alone, for his wife prefers to be free. Vote For Hendryk! (Herr Wichmann von der CDU) An election campaign in the East German hinterland. Henryk Wichmann, 25-years-old and a member of the Christian Democratic Party (CDU), is running for a seat in the lower house of parliament and hopes to give it a young and energetic voice. His chances are not good in a region dominated by the Social Democrats. But Henryk Wichmann keeps on fighting ... Willenbrock (Willenbrock) Mr. Willenbrock is a successful car dealer. One evening, he and his wife are robbed. Although he escapes with only a few bruises, he can’t get it out of his mind. With the realization that he is indeed vulnerable, he tries bitterly to regain control of his life, but nothing works. His business suffers, along with his love life. Together with the gun he now carries, he is a ticking bomb. Based on the novel by Christoph Hein. |
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