Eve and Adam (1973)

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Movie
Original title Eve and Adam
Country of production GDR
original language German
Publishing year 1973
length 357 minutes
Rod
Director Horst E. Brandt
script Gerhard Bengsch
production DEFA on behalf of East German television
music Helmut Nier
camera Günter Haubold
cut Karin Kusche
occupation

Eva and Adam is a four-part black and white film production by Horst E. Brandt for GDR television from 1973. It addresses everyday problems in a relationship and the general conflict between men and women. In each of the four films, one married couple is in the foreground and all four parts are linked in their story.

content

Skirmishes with Napoleon

Helga Lorenz is happily married and has two children. But the daily challenge of bringing family and work under one roof often pushes them to their limits. She had passed her evening course in engineering and economics with a “very good” and works with her husband Hans in the same company. The welder had always supported his wife during her difficult time of multiple workloads and hopes that calm will return now that her studies are over. But he's wrong, because Helga, as assistant to director Dr. Bunge to the management, which means irregular working hours, as she has to adapt to her superior and also has to travel a lot. Gradually rumors are circulating in the company about plans to outsource the welding shop, which brings uncertainty for Hans in his professional future. There are also inferiority complexes, since he is “only” a simple worker, while his Helga has a degree. The harmonious marriage of Lorenz shakes even more after Hans learns from his friend Edwin that Helga seems to get on a little too well with her boss, which makes him jealous.

Hans takes three days off and disappears without telling Helga where. He secretly wants to look around the shipyard in Rostock for a new job. He is successful and now expects his wife to move to Rostock with him, but Helga is not at all enthusiastic about it and has her own ideas. And she has good arguments not to throw the gun in the towel so quickly and to wait and see what solution the company finds with regard to the welding department. This is how Helga and Hans pronounce themselves. They decide that they want to cope with the new situation and the upcoming one together, on an equal footing - with love, understanding and mutual respect.

Private by appointment

Dr. Reinhold Bertram is a committed dentist with many social obligations. His private life has been neglected more and more and the 20-year marriage is about to end. His Luise had given up studying in his favor and devoted herself only to the family and their son. She had renounced any career prospects and is now only there for the home and the garden when Martin is big. She has to realize painfully that her husband now has a lover. Not surprising in itself, because he spends far more time with his office assistant than with his wife. Nevertheless, a world collapses for her and she initially plays with suicidal thoughts. But after she catches up again and moves out of the common house, she dares to take the difficult step back to work with the help of friends and advice. After all these years of dependence on her husband, she starts again as a worker in the carpet factory.

Despite all the humiliation, Luise would continue the marriage out of love, but Reinhold does not want to. He accuses her of not being up to him and of not being a spiritual partner for him. He insists on an amicable divorce, which Luise does not want to agree to. Only a court decides on the marriage and pronounces the divorce.

Reinhold's lover Erika is expecting a child from him, but she does not want to move in with him even after his divorce and also considers separate jobs to be sensible. With this it becomes more and more clear to him that he can no longer carry on his usual life as a pasha.

How many stars does the sky have?

17-year-old Betty, daughter of the coal carrier Lienau, misses her mother. Since abandoning the family, Betty has lived with her little brother with her father. He also couldn't cope with the fact that his wife had left him for someone else. Since then he has drowned his grief in alcohol, and Betty has dire straits to keep the remaining money together to run the business. Due to the family burden, Betty only had a nine-class school education, a broken apprenticeship and a dismissal without notice due to strolling around work. Now she is supposed to start in the tamping of the carpet factory, in which Mrs. Bertram also works and is being educated in the brigade. At first she blocks, but then she settles into the collective. Elli Kramer and Luise Bertram take the girl under their wing. Luise even lets her sublet her son's room. Actually, Betty is not as indifferent as she pretends to be, but thirsty for knowledge, only she lacks perseverance and honesty. She would love to work on the big looms, but that requires a skilled worker in textile technology. After falling in love with the crane operator Manfred, she finally attended the company academy. The two get engaged and want to get married - Betty's dream of an orderly life seems to come true. But one day Manfred reveals to her that he has to join the army because he had volunteered for three years. Disappointment and argument lead to a break. As a result, Betty lets go and is about to give up her work and further training. But her colleagues and friends believe in her and do not stand idly by. She even receives tutoring from her teacher Vera Schmidt to catch up on the missed material. Ultimately, she continues work and school and decides to reconcile with her Manfred.

So check!

After a long liaison, the divorced company director Stefan Bunge marries the emancipated, ambitious Vera Schmidt and legalizes their relationship with one another. But shortly after the wedding, their marriage is put to the test. Stefan is supposed to temporarily take over the post of the unfortunate general director in Leipzig.

Vera had completed her studies with distinction and a doctorate and meanwhile worked her way up to become a consultant in the district leadership. In the long run, the long-distance relationship turns out to be exhausting, because the newlyweds rarely see each other and when they do, there are always fundamental discussions and principles. When it is certain that Stefan will stay in Leipzig, the problems will get even bigger because Vera actually wants to finish the projects she has started. So she defends herself against moving and does not want to back off. Another point of contention is family planning, because Stefan thinks it's time for children, which Vera sees differently because they would be a hindrance to children in their work. This different point of view strains the marriage of the two and a separation seems inevitable. Discussions with Vera's and Stefan's friends and colleagues reveal various views on marriage and gender equality. This allows the bunges to see their mistakes and get back together. The final factor, however, is a volume of love poems that Vera's friend Marie gives to the two of them.

background

Eva and Adam was produced by DEFA for television in the GDR. The four-part production was first broadcast on DDR1 in September 1973. However, there was a preview on ORF2 on July 7, 1973. It was not repeated until 1978, 1995, 1998, 2007 and 2014 on various broadcasters. For the first part of Battles with Napoleon , motifs from F. Bohnes contribution “Where are you going” from the volume “The woman next to us” were used. The last episode Drum check! is at the same time a re-encounter with all main characters of the first parts.

Film overview

No. title First broadcast Lead cast
1. Skirmishes with Napoleon 16th September 1973 Ursula Karusseit and Dietmar Richter-Reinick
2. Private by appointment 18th September 1973 Helga Göring and Rudolf Ulrich
3. How many stars does the sky have? 23rd September 1973 Jenny Gröllmann and Frank Schenk
4th So check! September 26, 1973 Angelica Domröse and Horst Drinda

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Broadcast dates retrieved from fernsehserien.de.
  2. ↑ So check! retrieved from fernsehserien.de