FILM

Berlin, die Symphonie der Großstadt or Berlin, Symphony of a Big City (1927)
In one of the most famous city symphonies of the 1920s, Walter Ruttmann displays a virtuoso sense of rhythm, tempo, and montage in depicting a typical day in the big city. The fifth act opens as evening falls and the city becomes alive with new diversions and attractions, including plenty of evidence for the German fascination with American mass culture . . .

 

 

 

 

Kuhle Wampe or To Whom Does the World Belong? (1932)
This famous example of proletarian filmmaking at the end of the Weimar Republic offers not only a passionate argument for political engagement but also a rare document of Berlin working-class culture. Directed by Slatan Dudow and Bertolt Brecht, the film includes an extensive sequence on the sports competitions and popular diversions organized by leftwing political groups.

 

 

 

 

Olympia, Fest der Völker or Festival of the Nations (1938)
This famous two-part documentary by Leni Riefenstahl about the 1936 Olympics is also a film about the city that hosted the games to convince the international community of the benign nature of the Nazi regime. The opening ceremony took place in a new stadium built by star architect Werner March.

 

 

 

 

A Foreign Affair (1947)
Having started his film career in Berlin, Hollywood exile director Billy Wilder first returned to Germany as an advisor to the US Armed Forces and then made a film about a congressional delegation that comes to Berlin to investigate problems of fraternization . . . “the moral malaria” spreading in the rubble city. Among them is congresswoman Phoebe Frost (Jean Arthur) who will soon fall for the charms of a suave American officer. He, of course, has a thing going with a seductive German lounge singer played by Marlene Dietrich . . .

 

 

 

Germania Anno Zero or Germany in the Zero Hour (1948)
In this last part of his famous trilogy about World War Two, Roberto Rossellini uses his famous neo-realist style to document the complete devastation of Berlin and the daily struggle for survival by its inhabitants. In this scene, we find the young protagonist digging graves and walking home through the ruins . . .

 

 

 

 

Roman einer jungen Ehe or Story of a Young Couple (1952)
It tells the story of a young married couple-both actors-against the backdrop of the intensifying Cold War in Berlin. Whereas the husband briefly succumbs to the material promises of the West, the wife joins the socialist collective in the East. Directed by Kurt Maetzig, the film is a classic example of political propaganda during the heydays of Stalinism. In this scene, Agnes recites an ode to Stalin at the opening of Stalinallee (now Karl-Marx Allee/ Frankfurter Allee), the grand boulevard then considered the foremost symbol of East Berlin and the victory of socialism.

 

 

 

Berlin-Ecke Schönhauser or Berlin Schönhauser Corner (1957)
Rebels without a Cause set in East Berlin, here called “the democratic sector of Greater Berlin.” Influenced by the depiction of rebellious youth in Hollywood films of the 1950s, but also interested in capturing everyday life in East Berlin in the style of Italian neorealism, DEFA director Gerhard Klein follows a group of young men as they discover love, fun, and rock 'n' roll and try to find their way amidst the ideological confrontation of capitalism and communism. Here they are hanging around near the underpass of the elevated train . . .

 

 

 

One, Two, Three (1962)
A Cold War farce with James Cagney as a Coca Cola executive, Wilder again returns to Berlin just in time to witness the building of the Berlin Wall. The film offers a veritable tour de force of stereotypes and clichés: of German Nazis, ugly Americans, and stupid communist apparatchiks.

 

 

 

 

Und deine Liebe auch or And Your Love Too (1962)
Directed by Jürgen Vogel, this film is a declaration of love to the city of Berlin and an argument for the building of the Wall. While adhering to a documentary aesthetic in his scenes of everyday life in the East, Vogel uses a love triangle between two brothers and a young woman to show how the decision for or against the East can destroy even the bond between brothers. Here Uli (Armin Mueller-Stahl) tries to prevent his brother Klaus from fleeing to the West . . .

 

 

 

 

Schaut auf diese Stadt or Look at this City (1962)
A DEFA documentary by Karl Gass that recounts the history of West and East Berlin from the end of World War II to the building of the Wall on August 13, 1961. The polemical opposition between East German as “the city of peace” and West Berlin as a “spearhead” justifies the need for the Wall as an “anti-imperialist protective wall.” In this closing scene, the commentator evokes the image of a free West Berlin. . .

 

 

 

 

Die allseitig reduzierte Persönlichkeit or Redupers (1978)
Made by feminist filmmaker Helke Sander, this film was shot in West Berlin of the 1970s and tells the story of a single mother and photographer who is taking lots of pictures of the Berlin Wall. Here, she explains her project to her friends . . .

 

 

 

 

Christiane F. wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo or Christiane F. (1982)
In his first big commercial hit, Uli Edel presents a starkly realist, but also sensationalist view of the milieu of drug addicts, thieves, and prostitutes hanging out at the Zoological Garden train station in West Berlin during the late 1970s. In this scene, the group has some fun in the shopping arcades near the Zoo train station before ending the night on top of the Europa Center, with David Bowie's Heroes (part of his Berlin Trilogy) providing the soundtrack.

 

 

 

 

Der Himmel über Berlin or Wings of Desire (1987)
The famous Berlin film by Wim Wenders approaches the divided city from the perspective of angels watching over its population. Here Damiel (played by Bruno Ganz) visits the Staatsbibliothek (Prussian State Library) built by Hans Scharoun and listens to the thoughts of those reading and studying. A perfect image of the city as a multi-voiced body . . .

 

 

 

 

Die Architekten or The Architects (1990)
Directed by Peter Kahane, this film was started before and completed after unification. Highly allegorical, the story about a young architect who is designing a housing complex is also a story about the building of socialism, the compromises with power, and the loss of idealism. In this scene, he talks to his mentor about the need for compromise.

 

 

 

 

Lola rennt or Run Lola Run (1998)
In this critical and popular success directed by Tom Tykwer and starring Franka Potente, Lola must get a lot of money to her boyfriend-fast. Thus she runs and runs and runs, with three different narratives yielding three very different results. Here we see her on her first run through the streets of Berlin; meanwhile her father is having problems with his girlfriend.

 

 

 

 

Lola und Bilidikid or Lola and Bilidikid (1998)
German-Turkish director Kutlug Ataman introduces his audience to the colourful scene of gays, transvestites, and transsexuals living in Berlin-Kreuzberg. A simultaneously playful and provocative attack on racism and homophobia and a critical deconstruction of traditional notions of masculinity. In this scene, Lola fools around with his wealthy lover Friedrich on top of his architectural model of Alexanderplatz . . .

 

 

 

 

Berlin, Sinfonie einer Großstadt or Berlin, Symphony of a Big City (2002)
Eighty years later, documentary filmmaker Thomas Schadt remakes Ruttmann's city symphony, a testimony also to the continuities of urban life. In this sequence, we once again follow contemporary Berlin nightlife . . .

 

 

 

 

Goodbye Lenin (2003)
The most famous example of Ostalgie, that is: nostalgia for East Germany. A young man's mother awakes from a coma, unaware that the German Democratic Republic no longer exists. To protect her from the shock of historical change, the young man (played by Daniel Brühl) feigns its continuous existence: with increasingly hilarious side effects and complications. In this scene, the mother leaves the house and finds out that she no longer lives in the GDR . . .

 

 

 

 

Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei or The Edukators (2004)
A charming story about three anti-capitalist activists living in Berlin, directed by Hans Weingartner. They spent their nights breaking into rich people's houses, leaving behind suggestive messages such as “Your days of plenty are over” or “You have too much money.” Here the female lead takes part in a demonstration against shoe stores using sweatshops . . .