Frieda

Intelligent British post-war drama focusing on the problems of assimilation of Germans in the UK during, and in the wake of, WWII. Mai Zetterling is the German girl whom RAF pilot David Farrar marries out of gratitude and duty after she helps him escape the Nazis. Upon their return to his home town however she is met by mistrust and prejudice from the unlikeliest sources. The strong storyline is weakened somewhat by the eventual appearance of Zetterling's brother, whose eyes bulge fanatically whenever the word 'Nazi' is mentioned. The central theme is as relevant today as it was back in the 1940s

Phew, that was a tough watch.. Not the production, Frieda is well made, but makes us all face up to our own prejudice and fear. I have no idea how this must have felt to the audience in 1947, I am sure many struggled to sympathise with Frieda, the enemy.

Today hatred is still rife, we live in a world that is still drawing dividing lines, for what.. where has it got us. Frieda tries to make us examine irrational fears and blind hatred. The film pushes us to see people as individuals.

I often look back at old cinema as a little simple, corny even, it is not often I sit in silence at the end and contemplate what I have seen, Frieda made me do this.

Should you watch this, yes if you like cinema that takes you somewhere and you like to empathise with tough subject matter. It is not an arty film and is extremely watchable.. But if you need whizzbangs and CGI this might not be the film for you.

All I can say to finish, I am glad I finally sat down to watch Frieda.

By today's standards the acting looks a little dated as the characters come across as somewhat dour & rather too well mannered & polite. Today, in films we are bombarded with characters who have shovelfuls of attitude, aggression and cynicism. Today's film makers make no effort to hide feelings and emotions, but in 1947, it was still customary to keep a stiff upper lip, be courteous and behave at all times with decorum, which indeed this film exemplifies. The storyline is set in a rural, middle class family home, where social graces are still rigidly observed. The film throws an interesting light, not just on the niceties of middle class family life, but also on how patriotic and war weary citizens react to a young German woman being thrust into their midst. David Farrar, as Robert, is faced with a moral dilemma when he decides to do the 'decent' thing and marry Mai Zetterling, who helped him escape from Germany. The slow pace of the film is not to everyone's liking, but nevertheless the film, 'Frieda' gives the excellent cast sufficient time and space to portray believable characters and for the director to build a solid narrative. Although dull at times, I have given it a 7 out of 10, since it gives the modern day film buff the opportunity to see no nonsense quality acting without any frills.

1947 was not an easy year. In fact, the British and the world was still recovering from World War II. This film probably raised a lot of eyebrows and concern. Germany was still the enemy and Frieda played beautifully by Swedish newcomer, Mai Zetterling, should have been honored with nominations for her performance. Frieda is not well liked because she is German so you're not going to trust a German girl in the first place. Anyway, I imagine how it was first released to the British public after a brutal war and the rebuilding of the damage done by the blitz. Anyway, I can imagine audience members not being welcoming to Frieda but she is somebody we grow to understand. It's not her fault that's she's German anymore that I'm an American. She grows on you because she is somebody we can like but I think that's part of the problem. We see her only flaw as being German and not much else. Anyway, Mai Zetterling performs well and should have been honored with a nomination or two for being the star of the film.

This is an amazing psychological drama about a German girl being brought out of the war by an Englishman who eventually marries her, creating great controversy in his small native town, as his elder sister (Flora Robson) is a leading local politician. She is ardently against all things German, consistently denouncing all Germans just because they are Germans, and her case is perhaps the most interesting one in the film , how it develops, and how she finally gets the last word: "You can never treat any human beings as less than human without becoming less than human yourself." It could have been said by Plato. David Farrar is outstanding as usual as the soldier who refuses to give up Frieda, and Man Zetterling, who herself lived in Germany during a period of her life, is absolutely convincing and outstanding in acting this very sensitive part. I was deeply impressed by the depth of the script and the actors' perfect rendering of it in bringing it more than alive, and although the scenery is rather the same all through with no great practical drama, the inner drama is the more vivid, intensive and spiritually dramatic. This was yet another ace among the productions of Basil Dearden.