Liebe '47

Wolfgang Borchert's radio play 'The Man outside. Tragedy of a returning Soldier', in which he drew upon his traumatic experiences on the Russian Front, was adapted for the stage in 1947 but he died from hepatitis just one day before the play's premiere. Two years later it has been filmed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner with Karl John as soldier Beckmann and expanded to focus more on war-widow Anna which provides a powerful role for the director's wife, the stunning Hilde Krahl. In keeping with their characters' tragic tales the sheer emotional intensity of their performances is overwhelming whilst Liebeneiner's direction is superlative and Franz Weihmayer's cinematography suitably stark. Beckmann could easily have been created by Bertold Brecht, especially in his surreal nightclub routine. The disturbing confrontation with his former commanding officer features a magnificent nightmare sequence. Comic relief is supplied by the nightclub owner who advises Beckmann that post-war Germany needs 'positives' like Goethe, Mozart and Shirley Temple. He is played by Hubert von Meyerinck, best known to English-speaking audiences in Billy Wilder's 'One, Two, Three' as the Count who comes from a long line of 'bleeders'.

Post-war 'Rubble' films depicted the terrible price that the Germans paid for their fatal flirtation with National Socialism and enabled directors to expiate their guilt for having served such monstrous masters, not least of whom was Liebeneiner who had made the notorious 'Ich klage an' which promoted the Nazi's T4 Euthanasia programme.

'Liebe '47' is certainly not the most renowned of the 'Rubble' genre but fully deserves to be, despite its harrowing and unrelenting gloom. It fared badly for by the time it was released the Germans had no further desire to face the privations of the past and were looking to future prosperity. Over seventy years on it can hopefully be viewed as an excellent piece of film-making although this sadly seems unlikely as mine is thus far the only review.

Liebe '47 describes a place and a time we cannot imagine today. I include in that description the impossibility of imagining the emotional place that Germans were in at the end of World War II.

Everything that could have been destroyed WAS destroyed - lives, families, morality. All that was left was the ruins of a vaguely remembered time and place. The dislocation was profound.

Two figures, a man and a woman are seen separately at the waters edge (Hamburg docks). They are contemplating suicide. They have lost everything and appear to have nothing to live for. We see them come together. Other shadowy (Bergmanesque) figures swirl in the sidelines and discuss the destinies of our two players.

We see Anna's story first. She has suffered greatly. Shattered dreams, harsh realities. Terrible. Her story is handled sensitively and superbly, and sets the scene in many ways. Nazi era films tended to show women in minor/love interest/home maker or subservient roles as this was the place assigned to them by the regime. Not in Liebe '47 though. Here we see a different reality. Anna is downtrodden, abused and broken. She is a hero that many post-war German women could identify with.

Then we see Jürgen's story - a war survivor from the German army. He is also a hero - but not a hero through military acts of bravery...

I watched Liebe '47 in the original German without subtitles. My German isn't great - but I managed, despite the basic sound quality, because the images are strong, the acting is strong and the stories and emotions shine through.

The film really gets to work in the second half (building on Anna's story), when Jürgen is forced again to confront the banalities of war and the subsequent peace. Or rather, we the viewer are forced to confront his realities. The scenes he sets up in a Cabaret bar and at the home of his former commanding officer are unnerving and carefully chosen by the script writers. The bizarre dream images he conjours are impactful and surreal. The implication is that Germany has endured some kind of apocalyptic schizophrenic nightmare that it is only just waking from, wondering what happened, daring to remember.... There are further implications for audience to consider.

This is a good film, with impactful story telling made in an ex-Luftwaffe hangar in Göttingen on next-to-no resources or budget.

The ending is strong (no spoilers). Our two characters have fought their way to here. They have survived, somehow, and decide that they should look after each other. This is the moral core of the film.

Liebe '47 is a Trümmerfilm - rubble film. The meaning here being - the rubble of previous lives. Historic films - we need to see these pieces. They are usually bleak - but they show us aspects of the human condition that we would not otherwise see. Watch Liebe '47 and see what you think.