The Legend of Paul and Paula (1973)

The legend of Paul and Paula is a very popular film in East Germany. By the way, its the favorite movie of Chancellor Angela Merkel.Before you watch that movie you must consider two things: the film was made in the GDR with the possibilities they had in the GDR-System and it was not possible to criticize the system in an open way. That means they always had to criticize between the lines.I don't like to reveal too much, but I like to explain what the film is about:We meet a single woman Paula which raises her child alone. She meets another bloke and becomes pregnant again, but he cheats on her as well. Paula is a 20 something and feels unhappy in her life. She is young, but it seems that nothing is going on in her life anymore. Paula watches all the happy couples around her, but she is alone. There is an older admirer (Herr Saft) which she could marry, but she does not love him. Paula makes an decision: it would be good to marry this older men in a material way and for her children. But before she agrees, she likes to paint the town red for a last time.In a disco she meets Paul, who is very successful in his job, but he is unhappy in his marriage. They fall in love with each other...but he will not leave his family because of the expectation of society etc. There are some heartbroken scenes. A wonderful love movie.It is up to you,if the film has an Happy End. Just be open and enjoy.

"Die Legende von Paul und Paula" or "The Legend of Paul and Paula" is an East German German-language film from 1973, so this one is already over 40 years old. It runs for almost 100 minutes and is today considered one of the best GDR movies in retrospective. I agree partially with that. My personal opinion is sadly that the GDR was not a good country at all when it comes to their cinematic achievements, so by general standards it is an okay movie, but compared to other GDR films I believe that this one does indeed stand out from the very weak rest. It probably also helps that this is a color film. I cannot see this film by Heiner Carow and Ulrich Plenzdorf as relevant in depicting life in the GDR. It does not make an impact in terms of politics or society I think. It is, however, worth checking out because it is a solid romance movie that is pretty bleak and sometimes even devastating. The movie lives through the two title characters and the way they are portrayed and depicted, especially Angelica Domröse's Paula. Yes there are moments of blatant overacting, but this is basically the case in 90% of all 1970s films, especially the German ones. There were some good parts, some not so good, but overall the positive outweighs the negative. I also liked the introduction of the two characters that we meet them long before they become a couple actually. As a whole, I am not sure this film should be as popular as it is today, but at least it's evidence that not every GDR movie is a failure. This is one of the rare successes. I recommend the watch, thumbs up.

Die Legende von Paul und Paula captures the spirit of the changes and upheavals of the late 1960ies / early 1970ies upheaval like no other film. Outstanding acting and the on-screen chemistry between Angelica Domröse and Winfried Glatzeder (basically they're the Brangelina of early 1970ies East Germany) make up for the movie's slow and somewhat inane first third, and some dated flourishes such as the Sergeant Pepper-style scene on the barge. The movie manages to convey that the GDR wasn't the worker's paradise many like to remember it as, without ever being in-your-face type of critical.Unlike some reviewers have hinted, the movie was never banned in the GDR, although it can't have been popular with the party big whigs. In fact it was even the most popular homegrown movie on the other side of the wall.

Heiner Carow's "Die Legende von Paul und Paula" is the first GDR film I've watched which centered on a woman and her development as an individual, which was new to DEFA within that period of time. "Die Legende..." is different from other films made before it since the story was about a woman who seeks for self-fulfillment and follows her heart in spite of the rigidity of societal norms.In this film, Paula is the epitome of what women were mostly portrayed as in the 1970s: emotional rather than rational.Paula is a quirk of a character. She wears her heart on her sleeve and cares not one bit what happens as long as she is happy. She seems a bit over the edge at some points in the film, though. As if she were about to break down at a moment's notice. Her character is intense and Angelica Dumrose fully consummates the part.