Fegefeuer

This film was being made about the time that I was born. Today I see it through the eyes of a 38 year old and sense it intensive strenght. The film certainly belonged then to the avantgarde. Today it seems more modern than ever. It is as if the film want to remind us, that this medium, despite its technical perfection, has in no way exhausted all its possibilities for throwing light upon human existence and life's interrelationships. The dramatization is subtle and honest. The film's rational, emotional and psychological layers highlighted by exactly the right, widely varying film techniques, made me aware, as are the film's characters of the theme of the work: "Am I living my own life?" "Can I make my decisions freely?" "Am I completely honest with myself?" In a friendly and impartial way the film invites me to confront this theme through the meanderings and the intertwinings threads of the fires of purgatory. The shot at the end really strikes home. We are left with the hope, that a courageous exposure of lies will lead us towards a true life.