Isabel on the stairs
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Isabel on the stairs |
| Country of production | GDR |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1984 |
| length | 68 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Hannelore Unterberg |
| script | Hannelore Unterberg Waldtraut Lewin (scenario) Anne Pfeuffer (dramaturgy) |
| production |
Martin Sonnabend for DEFA, KAG "Berlin" |
| music |
Karl-Ernst Sasse , Julio Alegría |
| camera | Eberhard Geick |
| cut | Helga Krause |
| occupation | |
| |
Isabel on the stairs is a children's film from 1984 produced by DEFA -Studio for feature films, artistic working group “Berlin”. The production is based on the radio play of the same name by Waldtraut Lewin and was presented at the 4th National Festival “ Goldener Spatz ” in Gera excellent.
The premiere took place on September 7, 1984 in the GDR premiere cinema, in the Berlin Colosseum .
action
The Chilean Rosita Pérez fled with her daughter Isabel from Chile to the GDR after the Pinochet putsch . At the beginning of the plot, they have been living in East Berlin for six years , where the Kunze family has sponsored them. But in the course of time the contact with the Kunzes, who are preoccupied with their own everyday worries and who believe that the emigrants have now settled in, has lost intensity.
In the neighborhood there were soon prejudices against the exiles, which Ms. Kunze also shares. The twelve-year-old son Philipp Kunze feels how stressful the situation must be, especially for Isabel. Isabel believes that her father, who was arrested in Chile, is dead and that her mother will not be able to take the news of her death. That's why she sits on the stairs every afternoon to intercept the news of her death. Grandpa Kunze comes to visit. He likes Ms. Pérez and shares his grandson's view that the neighbors should be looked after more. At the invitation of Ms. Pérez, he attended a Chilean cultural event. Philipp and Isabel go on a boat trip. Surprised by a rain shower, they seek shelter under a bridge. Later they build a hut in a corn field. When they get home, they find out that Isabel's father has died and that her mother is in hospital after a mental breakdown. The Kunzes take Isabel in.
criticism
“The good thing about this film is its honesty, as it addresses problems and presents situations that everyone knows. And precisely because of this one is stimulated to think about such everyday occurrences. The appeal to our real solidarity, which means more than donating money, namely solidarity in daily life, in interpersonal relationships - this appeal is achieved through scenes that appeal to the feeling of the viewer. [...] A children's film that can say a lot to adults too. "
“Waltraud Lewin's intention worked, it left a strong emotional impression in the listener, concrete concern. Compared to that, the film leaves a lot to be desired. There are exact details, coherent images, but on the whole they are put together in an undifferentiated way, are treated undialectically, form a mere description of the state that is not convincing because it is not made comprehensible. "
“The moral of this realistic description of everyday life actually means more to adults. It is they who initially fail in this film, which measures the much-used concept of solidarity in practice in the GDR. [...] The critical view [...] proves that children's films in the GDR are often closer to the reality there than - especially recently - productions for adults "
The lexicon of international films saw Isabel on the stairs as a "children's and youth film from the GDR, instructive and well-prepared cinematically, [which] promotes understanding and helpfulness towards foreign refugees".
The film-dienst praised the children's film, "which courageously portrays the contradiction between official phrases and the reality of dealing with foreigners".
See also
literature
- F.-B. Habel : The great lexicon of DEFA feature films . Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-89602-349-7 , pp. 275-277 .
Web links
- Isabel on the stairs in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Isabel on the stairs at filmportal.de
- Isabel on the stairs at the DEFA Foundation
- Isabel on the stairs - full film in German on YouTube
Individual evidence
- ↑ See filmportal.de ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Marlene Köhler in: Freiheit, September 12, 1984
- ↑ Gisela Hoyer in: Morning of September 19, 1984
- ↑ Heinz Kersten in: Tagesspiegel from March 17, 1985
- ↑ Klaus Brühne (Ed.): Lexicon of International Films . Volume 4. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1990, p. 1835.
- ↑ See film-dienst on kabeleins.de
