I can no longer be silent

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
Original title I can no longer be silent
Country of production Federal Republic of Germany
original language German
Publishing year 1962
length 88 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Wolfgang Bellenbaum
as Jochen Wiedermann
script Felix Lützkendorf
production Hans Oppenheimer
music Peter Sandloff
camera Ekkehard Kyrath ,
Karl Löb
cut Walter von Bonhorst
occupation

I can no longer be silent is a German film drama by Wolfgang Bellenbaum , who also worked under the pseudonym Hans-Joachim Wiedermann or Jochen Wiedermann . The film, shot in 1961, deals with Section 218 , which legally forbade doctors from abortion . The nationwide cinema release was on January 12, 1962.

action

The year 1961: 17-year-old Sabine Prohaska and 20-year-old law student Klaus Kampmann have been a couple since May and sleep together in late summer. Sabine becomes pregnant, but sees no way to have the child. She lives with her single mother and earns little money. Klaus is still in his undergraduate studies and couldn't support a small family. Sabine fears that he will even have to break off his studies. Neither of them can afford to marry and neither will they reveal themselves to their parents, especially since Klaus' father is a public prosecutor. At the end of November you will receive the address of Dr. Günther Behrens, who has already performed illegal abortions in the past. Sabine goes to him and he examines her.

A little later, Behrens identifies the dead Sabine in the morgue. The investigators found the note with his address on her. Soon he is urgently suspected of having performed an abortion on Sabine and injuring her so badly that she died of internal bleeding. Behrens came home late, like every Wednesday, a witness saw his car with the crying Sabine in front of the doctor's office door - a short time later she was found lifeless in the park. Behrens denies having treated Sabine and claims that he rejected her because there were no emotional or medical reasons for an abortion. Public Prosecutor Dr. Kampmann proves to Behrens that he has already carried out an abortion on women in two previous cases, thereby violating the law. In one of the two cases - the patient was just 16 years old - it was a pregnancy as a result of rape.

According to the evidence, Behrens is considered guilty as he cannot prove his innocence. One reason is that Klaus' identity could not be determined because Sabine always kept her boyfriend's name to herself. Meanwhile, Klaus has to suffer from his father, who places too high demands on him and does not treat him as an adult. He knows that he will never be able to step out of the shadow of his father, whom he despises as a public prosecutor. He takes a revolver from his father and seeks Sabine's mother, who had to testify in court that day. The mother is desperate because she would have wanted to help Sabine with the baby. Shortly before the taking of evidence is over, Klaus reports to the court and testifies in the case of Sabine Prohaska. His father does not prevent him, but states that he will prosecute his son if he has broken the law.

Klaus reports that Behrens had rejected Sabine because he saw no urgent reasons for an abortion. In her need, Sabine turned to the landlady, Mrs. Woitke, who had already helped friends in other cases and who only performed abortions for financial reasons. Klaus was uncomfortable with the idea of ​​having the abortion performed by a quack , but the couple saw no other option. After the operation, Sabine felt very bad, she was dizzy and nauseous. Her condition worsened so quickly that Klaus drove to Behrens, but he had already left from work. On the way to the hospital, Klaus had to stop at the park because Sabine was sick. She dragged herself into the park, where she collapsed. Klaus pulled her to a bank and drove to a bar, where he alerted the ambulance service, which, however, had already been informed by passers-by. He followed the ambulance, but soon saw Sabine's body being removed. When he has finished, there is silence in the room. Klaus' father catches up quickly and applies for arrest against the landlady. He announces his son will be tried for aiding and abetting in breaking the law, and he will also have to drop out of his studies. A little later, Klaus tries to shoot himself in the park, but survives seriously injured. At the end the pleadings are read out. Public prosecutor Kampmann is demanding two years imprisonment for the two confessed abortions and three years of professional ban for Behrens. Defense attorney Dr. Maria Brunner, on the other hand, points out that Behrens' medical help might have violated the law, but that it only prevented the women from worse fates. Behrens himself dispenses with a final word. The film ends with his words: “I have nothing more to say. Please judge. "

production

I can no longer be silent was filmed in Berlin (West) in 1961. The film structures come from F.-Dieter Bartels and Karl Flick. The film was mass-launched in German cinemas on January 12, 1962. In 2006 it appeared on DVD in the series Filmpalast - Movie hits from yesterday .

It was the last film by cameraman Ekkehard Kyrath , who was replaced by Karl Löb during filming due to a serious cancer illness . Kyrath died a few days after the film premiere in January 1962.

criticism

The Illustrierte Film-Bühne zum Film found that “it [deals] with Section 218 in a form that has not yet been presented. In no way is the paragraph as such attacked - but the film shows that there is also the human side of this problem. "

The Catholic film service wrote that I can no longer remain silent “[spreads] the stories of the patients as a purely emotional plea against the ban on abortion. Direction and writing work with the mallet method, hardly leave out a cliché and give away all opportunities for a proper discussion. The result: an embarrassingly superficial colportage story . "

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 87 minutes for cinema projection (24 images / second), 83 minutes for television playback (25 images / second), film length: 2376 meters
  2. ↑ I can no longer be silent , Illustrierte Film-Bühne, No. 5994, p. 4.
  3. ↑ I can no longer be silent. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used