The setting is Berlin immediately after the end of WW2 and Hildegard Knef (Susanne) returns home from time spent in a concentration camp. I must say she looks pretty good considering where she has just been. Anyway, someone else is now living in her apartment – doctor Wilhelm Borchert (Mertens) – and he's not going anywhere. Borchert has lost his mojo when it comes to the medical practice and prefers to spend his days getting drunk. Good man. These two characters share the apartment as they come to terms with what they have lived through during the war. They come from opposing sides but can they unite at the end?
The film has a great setting, especially given the historical significance of Berlin at this time. I have read that it was set in the East part of the city then under the control of Soviet troops and soon to become part of East Germany. The cast are good – Borchert is a bit over-dramatic at times and the film's story gets going with the introduction of former Nazi captain Arno Paulsen (Brueckner). He was in charge of Borchert's unit and callously ordered the execution of civilians one Christmas Eve during the war. Borchert wants retribution for this.
This film is one of two films that are worth having in your film collection from Germany in the 1940s. The other is their version of Titanic (1943).
The film has a great setting, especially given the historical significance of Berlin at this time. I have read that it was set in the East part of the city then under the control of Soviet troops and soon to become part of East Germany. The cast are good – Borchert is a bit over-dramatic at times and the film's story gets going with the introduction of former Nazi captain Arno Paulsen (Brueckner). He was in charge of Borchert's unit and callously ordered the execution of civilians one Christmas Eve during the war. Borchert wants retribution for this.
This film is one of two films that are worth having in your film collection from Germany in the 1940s. The other is their version of Titanic (1943).