The events in Plantagenstrasse 19 (Plantagenstraße 19) primarily take place in an apartment building at the address in the film’s title.1 The story starts when the Madäus family appears to be moving into a flat in the building. During their move, it becomes apparent that the couple is not simply moving in, but splitting up. …
Private Party
In Frank Beyer's Private Party (Geschlossene Gesellschaft),1 Robert (Armin Mueller-Stahl) and Ellen (Jutta Hoffmann) are a seemingly happy married couple. Robert is a talented engineer whose work just saved the state a million Marks, and Ellen works for the youth services with disadvantaged teens. They decide to go on holiday with some friends. They invite …
East German Cinema Book Now on Sale!
It’s finally here! Movies from Behind the Wall, my book on East German cinema is now available on Amazon either as a Kindle book or a 600-page print-on-demand book. Eventually, I’ll be making it available in other formats on other platforms as well. Full disclosure: much of the material in the book is available for …
Novalis: The Blue Flower
Novalis: The Blue Flower (Novalis – Die blaue Blume) is recognized as the last film to be released by DEFA before the East German film production company closed its doors. The film is told episodically as the poet Novalis is lying on his deathbed. It’s a kaleidoscopic look at events in the poet’s life, up …
Ol’ Witch
Alongside the fairytale films that DEFA made throughout its existence, they also made a few films that would have been considered fairytales, were it not for the fact that they took place in modern times. The first of these was In Search of the Magical Bird (Die Suche nach dem wunderbunten Vögelchen). The film takes …
The Break-In
In November of 1951, a man named Walter Pannewitz rented office spaces on the ground floor of the Römischer Hof, a stately old office building on the corner of Charlottenstrasse and Unter den Linden in Berlin’s Mitte district. Nobody asked many questions at the time. Building owners were happy to have any tenants who could …
Free Land
Free Land (Freies Land) was the second film made for DEFA. Like The Murderers Are Among Us before it, Free Land is a rubble film, dealing with the immediate aftermath of World War II. More specifically, it deals with the development of the Vereinigung der gegenseitigen Bauernhilfe (Association of Mutual Farmers Aid—VdgB for short). The …
Radio GDR Podcast on Films
For anyone interested in life in East Germany, there is a podcast called Radio GDR that covers nearly every aspect of life there, from fashion to stamp collecting. In their most recent podcast, host Shane Whaley chatted about East German films with yours truly and Jefferey Babcock, who hosts screenings of DEFA films in the …
Damn It, I’m Grown Up
East Germany lasted forty years. During that time—DEFA, the state’s film production company—made roughly 950 films. Not many when you consider that the film studios in India make more movies than this in a year.1 Nonetheless, during those years, DEFA made several movies exploring the hopes, fears, and dilemmas faced by young people in the …
Mine-Haha English Translation Now Available!
I’m pleased to announce that my translation of Frank Wedekind’s classic novella, Mine-Haha, or the Corporal Education of Young Girls is now available on Amazon as either a Kindle book or a paperback. Included in it is my description of the translation process and why I made the choices I did for various words, along …
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