In a world ravaged by violence, and other serious social problems, Joan - a character that alludes to Christ (which represents the return to Earth) arrives to Italy by train and preaching for the salvation of mankind, condemning the hypocrisy and hedonism.
The successful entertainment artist Ralf Keul must develop his land on the Baltic Sea or else ultimately give it up. Inexperienced yet courageous, he hurls himself into the undertaking, which spares him no unpleasantness. He battles over the transportation and procurement of materials, constantly...
Concentration camp commander Kraft finds out that prisoner Kominek is a former professional boxer. Overnight, the prisoner is made Kraft's exercise partner and unwillingly rises to a privileged position at the camp. His anger over the death of his friend and co-prisoner leads to open revolt. The...
A Jewish ghetto in the east of Europe, 1944. By coincidence, Jakob Heym eavesdrops on a German radio broadcast announcing the Soviet Army is making slow by steady progress towards central Europe. In order to keep his companion in misfortune, Mischa, from risking his life for a few potatoes, he...
It is the year 1936 and the Spanish Civil War is raging. When the German commander of an international brigade is badly wounded he gives his five comrades a message which he divides up and secretes into in five cartridges. All five shells must reach the battalion in order for the message to be...
Germany in 1943. The Berlin worker Klaus Hartung is deployed as a soldier to the Eastern front during World War II. During a tour, he is captured by a Russian patrol. While in captivity, Hartung comes to the conclusion that he has to come through and actively take part in the effort to end the war....
Ewald Honig can't break his bad habit. Hardly has he crossed over into the GDR when the strapping, well-built man in his late fifties once again starts courting ladies with fraudulent intentions. His daughter Ina, burdened with the same genes, specializes in married men in their prime. Two...
Small town policeman Holms suffers from a rather unusual problem: Because of the low crime rate, there is simply not enough to do for him. Deadly bored, he sinks into the depths of depression and requests the help of a psychiatrist. But his imagination is far more effective: In his dreams, he...
A wild story set in eighteenth-century Prussia. Alexander can do everything that a real devil of a fellow must be able to do: ride, shoot, love and devise clever plots. As a result, he is able to climb the ladder from herder to chamber master, where he makes a fool of the feudal lords.
In an act of friendship and solidarity between two mining towns in 1929, the locals of Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, give their flag as a gift to the locals of Bergstedt, Germany in this GDR propaganda film. This quickly takes on a symbolic meaning for the miners in Bergstedt as the Nazi party demands that...
Bosch witnesses a theft: German publishing house lawyer Petra Jansen's handbag is stolen from a street café. Together, the two set off in pursuit of the thief.
In spring 1957 Budapest, former lovers Sándor and Mónika reunite after 16 years at a street‐corner café. Their conversation flashes back to 1941, when Hungary joined WWII under Horthy and eight fresh teacher‐graduates, including Sándor and Mónika, vowed lifelong solidarity. War and...
A commercial artist with a lisp chooses silence, unexpectedly propelling his career. His perceived innovation leads to rapid advancement in an ad agency. Mueller-Stahl shines in this biting critique of East German workplace culture.
Accompanying a GDR fashion team, journalist Thomas takes a plane to an haute couture festival in an exclusive Mediterranean seaside resort. A French Padre, who could be mistaken for Thomas's twin brother, is a fellow passenger. Precisely for this reason, the journalist is plunged into the most...
Spain 1936: Despite the victory of the Popular Front, nothing has changed for the peasants; the grandees continue to oppress them. The poor peasant son Pablo fights back and encourages the others to demand their rights. The grandees flee. Students from Madrid arrive and help the rural population to...
