This film is the first of a two-part historical and biographical portrait of the communist politician and anti-fascist Ernst Thälmann. In early November 1918, Ernst Thälmann is an unwilling soldier serving on the western front. As the revolutionary movement at home is threatened by the betrayal...
The corner Schönhauser Allee in East Berlin is the main meeting-point for a group of adolescents. Dieter is a construction worker who falls in love with Angela. She, in turn, spends time with the clique whenever her mother is occupied with her new lover. "Kohle" stays away from home to avoid his...
A striking resemblance between the hairdresser Franz Blume and the famous actor Günther Kolmin leads to a curious mix-up during a vacation in Feuerstein. Blume's initially shy attempts to defend himself are unsuccessful. It is believed that the star wants to maintain his incognito. And the...
Czech tourist Jelinek decides to take a ride on the "Ferris wheel" in Berlin, and as a result he lags behind the train and is left without his belongings and documents.
Krestan Serbin, a 64-year-old Sorbian farm-worker, considers himself non-political. He owns a few acres, a few pigs and a cow, and intends to pass all this on to his daughter Lena. Lena, however, shows only little interest. Krestan’s situation becomes more difficult when he is meant to become...
The little island of Laenneken is a place where time seems to stands still. Traditional customs and age-old power relations are still in place and are unaffected by modern-day influences. Not even the foundation of a fishery cooperative has diminished the power of the two richest fishermen,...