Deutschland Bleiche Mutter Reviews

The whys and hows behind the horrors of Nazi Germany are subjects often explored by filmmakers. This fine film differs from others in that it looks at the subject through the eyes of a civilian German woman, Mattes, a Berlin housewife newly married to Jacobi. Although she is not a party member, she is tolerant of the actions of Adolf Hitler's government, believing they will make for a stronger Germany. Eventually the Reich crumbles and with it Mattes' life. During an air raid she goes into labor, giving birth to a daughter under the most harrowing of conditions. Later she is raped by the Americans overrunning the country and is accused of infidelity by Jacobi. As her misery grows to unbearable levels Mattes contemplates suicide but ultimately decides to continue to live, emerging as a brave, determined woman. Originally released in Germany in 1980, this is a film of tremendous pain and emotional power. Mattes is stunning in the lead, portraying a character whose realistic horrors become our own. Director Sanders-Brahms has created a nightmare vision out of genuine tragedy, basing the film on wartime events in her mother's life. She effectively tells the story of the average German, who like others was a victim of Hitler's madness, with a special insight that permeates the film. The viewpoint is unabashedly feminist, the work having been dedicated "for my mother, for thousands of women." The ravages of war and the ideology of the Nazi party could only have been conceived by men is a point continually made throughout the course of the story. GERMANY PALE MOTHER is not an easy film to sit through. Its deeply disturbing ideas and situations, but daring vision, make this an important film from a much-ignored perspective. In an interesting production note, the director cast her daughter as herself in the role of Mattes' child. (In German; English subtitles.)