This movie is an early, forgotten example of Germany trying to make more ambitious art house films in the post war period that only produced light comedies, genre films and so called Heimatfilms (rural life love stories). This is the first movie in what would later be called "New German Cinema" with much more successful directors like Werner Herzog, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Edgar Reitz or Alexander Kluge. It was released just three month after the »Oberhausener Manifest«, the declaration that Germany will now make more ambitious films and the Father's cinema is dead.
"Das Brot der frühen Jahre" is an adaption Heinrich Böll's novella of the same name, about young washing machine repairman Walter Fendrich. The privation of the post war years has made him a hungry and cold, only interest is having enough to not hunger. Even in the present where, because of his job, he is a prosperous sought-after person. When he is asked to help student Hedwig Muller from his village to settle in the city, he start to consider if another life, if love is possible.
The pretty obvious model for "Das Brot der frühen Jahre" are the European art films from the likes of Alain Resnais or Michelangelo Antonioni. It features the same disjointed, unconventional narrative techniques with an emphasis on the images. Those images by cinematographer Wolf Wirth are the best thing about this movie and are on par with what they tried to archive here. The structure and narration are not. Herbert Vesely tries to lay »Nouveau roman« style a mosaic of memories, reactions, internal dialogues and dialog fragments that are sadly only a pale imitation of his role models and seem a bit forced and repetitive. Main actor is Christian Doermer, who germans will know as Horst Buchholz's young brother in »Die Halbstarken« (Teenage Wolfpack), he does an okay job as Walter Fendrich.
The film premiered at the 1962 Cannes Film festival, because director Vesely was understandably more interested in the opinion of french film critics than german ones. Those panned the film, let's not forget Antonioni's »L'eclisse« ran at the same festival and does this style so much better. Upon returning home it did receive the German Film Award but was soon forgotten. To this day not available on DVD or BluRay. It took decades for Vesely to make a film again and all of those where panned by german critics.
So, not a great film, but interesting one, that is beautiful to look at.
