Eine Berliner Romanze/A Berlin Romance (Gerhard Klein, 1956)
Mid-1950s Berlin, before the building of the Wall. Uschi, a salesgirl and aspiring fashion model from the East, is attracted to Hans, from the West. But she also loves the bright shop windows in his part of the city. The flashiness of this new world soon evaporates, however, when Hans loses his job. Inspired by Italian neorealism and shot on location in East and West Berlin, this cross-border romance precisely depicts daily life in the divided city before the Wall. It is now considered one of the most accurate portrayals of the Cold War Berlin youth scene during the 1950s. The film's frank images of youthful dreams and longings found little support among East German officials, who thought it encouraged East German young people to search for adventure in West Germany. A Berlin Romance is one of the Berlin Films series made by Klein and scriptwriter Wolfgang Kohlhaase. 81 min. Admission is free.
