Divided Heaven (film)
- Renate Blume: Rita Seidel
- Eberhard Esche: Manfred Herrfurth
- Hans Hardt- Hardtloff: Rolf Meternagel
- Hilmar Thate: Wendland
- Martin Flörchinger: Mr. Herrfurth
- Erika Pelikowsky: Woman Herrfurth
- Günther grave Bert Ernst Schwarzenbach
- Horst Jonischkan: Martin Jung
- Petra Kelling: Sigrid
- Horst Weinheimer: Ermisch
- Frank Michaelis: Karßuweit
- Paul Berndt: Melcher
- Christoph Engel: Love Maid
- Jürgen Kern: Hänschen
- Uwe- Detlev Jessen: Mangold
- Erik Veldre: Schwabe
- Otto Lang: Professor
- Lothar Bellag: Dr. Seiffert
- Siegfried Menzel: Dr. Müller
- Agnes Kraus: Woman Meternagel
- Angela Brunner: Dr. Muller's fiancee
- Peter herds: travel companion
- Maria Singer: Rita's aunt
- Heinz Hellmich: doctor
- Hilmar Baumann: News bearer
- Lissy Tempelhof: narrator
- Werner Schmidt- Wieland: RIAS Newscaster
- Werner Eberlein: Yuri Gagarin's voice
Divided Heaven is a literary adaptation of Konrad Wolf from the year 1964. DEFA film based on the 1963 story published in The Divided Heaven by Christa Wolf.
Action
After a nervous shock, the young Rita returns from their study hall back to her home village. She remembers the past two years.
At the dance at Christmas time, she learned the ten years her senior chemist Manfred know who is nearing the doctoral examination. She works during the day in the office until her boss Schwarzenbach she logs on as a student at the Institute of Teacher Education in Halle. Despite initial doubts she starts her studies in Halle, where Manfred lives. She pulls into his attic room. Manfred lives with his parents, call the house " living coffin " because ever happens, and has especially to his father, a strained relationship. The father, a former Nazi is, the Socialist Unity Party member and head in a wagon factory. Rita decides to work up to beginning of the semester in the car business, even if Manfred thereof is not thrilled.
In Waggonwerk it is assigned to the brigade Ermisch and befriends soon with the old Rolf Meternagel. The Brigadier was earlier in the operation, but had disloyal subordinates and superiors as Manfred's father. When in operation suddenly missing 3000 Mark, Meternagel was made and degraded responsible. This hit him hard and he works consistently, but silent on the improvement of the workflow, keeps a record of wasted work time and is committed to norm increases. With the officials about abuses to discuss, he has long since abandoned.
Manfred, meanwhile, has successfully defended his PhD thesis. He is working on an improved staining procedure, which he intends to offer the production for use. In Martin, he has a level-headed supporters, who wants to introduce the method of VVB. At first it seems as if it would be accepted; after an examination of the process but it is rejected without further notice. Manfred is always bitter. He begins to doubt Rita's love. When both on a test drive to participate with a newly built car, the first manned space flight Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin is currently in the news announced - Manfred responds cynical and predicts an ensuing wave of propaganda. When he is sent a short time later at a conference in West Berlin, he does not come back again.
Rita waiting many months for a sign from him. His method is now being applied despite previous cancellation. Finally, she receives a letter from Manfred in which he asks her to join him in West Berlin. She travels to him, but quickly feels lost in the big city. "Much like it, but you do not have the right to enjoy it. Man is alone in a terrible manner. Worse than abroad, because you can hear their own language, "said her conclusion. She returns without Manfred to Halle, where they eventually collapses.
In her village she comes back to forces and continue their studies. She admits her things from Manfred's room and initially finds a new home at Rolf Meternagel. He is now back Brigadier, has, however, in an attempt to save the then disappeared 3000 by Mark overtime, overworked. After cardiovascular problems, he will now go to the cure.
Production
The filming of The Divided Sky, found from 1963 to the spring of 1964 in Halle and at VEB - wagon Ammendorf instead. As the "voice of Yuri Gagarin " Konrad Wolf was his childhood friend, the politician Werner Eberlein, win, who worked as a Russian interpreter under Walter Ulbricht and so called " Khrushchev's voice" was also known in the television of the GDR. The film was premiered on July 7, 1964 at the International Film Festival Karlovy Vary. On September 13, 1965, the film was released in the FRG and ran for the first time on August 9, 1982 DFF one on TV.
After the premiere of the film has been repeatedly banned in the GDR " depending on political conditions ." The reasons were there differently, so the ban of the film in 1970 was justified by the Protocol of 25 August 1970 that "a further application of the film [ ... ] Republikflucht problem unnecessarily high play [ would ]. "
Criticism
The contemporary critics rated the movie mostly positive: the movie come " in the film art of the GDR, the rank of a breakthrough performance at ... ", even if " it is established critical that it is the creators have failed to a desirable extent that the individual dramaturgical complexes in the to get correct proportions to each other, "judged the New Germany.
Kurt Maetzig, then director of the German Film Academy in Potsdam-Babelsberg and film functionary in the GDR praised the film as "a very important step in this direction in a new stage of world art in general [ ...] I would like to say that the film, The Divided Sky ', for which I am very grateful to help to destroy a generalization based on primitive film Mache ".
The West German film criticism was: " Anyone who has seen these East German film, who knows that there is not the serious West German film. " The filmdienst praised Divided Heaven 1965:
" What was the West German production has not been convincingly succeeded in the eastern Defa has accomplished: a discussion of values and to turn artistically impressive film about the problem of the division of Germany, without falling into too many propaganda clichés. [ ... ] New here for eastern film conditions is the effort to take less consideration for the so-called popular taste and instead a sensitive issue to tackle to exacting standards and with refined Nouvelle Vague means to try. "
Divided Heaven was a " content and style, exceptional DEFA film " and show a " in its way unique reflection of the lifestyle and the new self-consciousness of the Ulbricht era ," judged the filmdienst 1990. Other critics called the film a "wall film in which the building does not occur and yet extends to infinity. "
Cinema was: " The temporarily banned drama of Konrad Wolf is one of the best works of the East German cinemas. Conclusion:. A look at the GDR without nostalgia filter " for Frank Burkhard Habel Divided Heaven " perhaps the most important contemporary film of the time. "
Awards
Divided Heaven was " particularly valuable " awarded the title. Konrad Wolf and Eberhard Esche received 1965 Erich -Weinert- medal. Divided Heaven at the Berlinale in 1991 as part of the retrospective.
In 1995, a survey by the German Cinematheque among professionals and film critics was conducted among the 100 most important German films celebrate the 100th anniversary of cinema. Among the selected films, there was also The Divided Sky.
Swell
- VEB Progress Film -Vertrieb (ed.): The Divided Sky. Progress Film Programme No. 95/64, Berlin 1964.