Una strada verso il domani - Ku'damm 56

Must see piece to understand German post war history.

Great characters, unpredictable storyline. Was very engaging.

Ku'damm 56 is fun to watch. This is a great achievement by the actors and the set designers. The series is a bit loaded too much with historical input, almost like something made by a history teacher (and I say this as a history teacher). Sometimes the characters and situations are too much "an example for this" and an "example for that". It is still really interesting how much the 50s were a completely different age even though you can see cars, television and Rock 'n' Roll. The actresses of the three daughters are very good as are the mother and Heino Ferch's sinister doctor. So while this is no Downton Abbey or Boardwalk Empire in terms of quality, it is well worth watching.

Everything about this production right to the very last scene is wonderful. One of the very best,

A series which intends to cover a period of history and do it through a family and then pack it with enough adventures and emotional turmoil should give anyone the shivers. However 'Ku damm 56' manages through skillful writing and production to navigate a dramatic way despite the plotting tricks of a mini-series.

It takes a little acceptance - suspension of disbelief - by the viewer, but it's not a compromise and the story is told well, even if a bit incredible at times.

The wider themes are set as a feminist tale at the dawn of the women's movement. However yoking Muddy Waters' song of defiance, 'Mannish Boy' with lyrics changed to a female singer is perhaps stretching viewer willingness, even if it works well enough in the place its used.

Although the daughters are the center of the story the presence which makes it work is the mother, a sort of Mother Courage. She is enduring, indomitable and implacable, and loyal to traditional values.

Michelsen plays her expertly with a range of regret, disapproval, contempt, and anger as she expresses her almost constant disappointment with modern life and her errant daughter, in particular.

Her character works well with the backstory to the Nazi period, an era which still casts its shadow over the lives of the characters, and a wider shift in the tempo of change exemplified in the rock music.

So, German women can sing the Blues; though another song might be more appropriate.