- Germany, Pale Mother
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Germany, Pale Mother 
VHS coverDirected by Helma Sanders-Brahms Produced by Walter Höllerer
Helma Sanders-BrahmsWritten by Helma Sanders-Brahms Starring Eva Mattes
Ernst JacobiMusic by Jürgen Knieper Cinematography Jürgen Jürges Editing by Uta Periginelli
Elfie TillackDistributed by New Yorker Films (USA) Release date(s) February 1980 Running time 123 minutes Country West Germany Language German Germany, Pale Mother (German: Deutschland bleiche Mutter) is a 1980 West German drama film written and directed by Helma Sanders-Brahms. It was shown at the 30th Berlin International Film Festival in 1980, where it was nominated for a Golden Bear award. It was not released in the United States until 1984.
Contents
Synopsis
The film is narrated by Anna, a German woman who tells the story of her parents before, during and after World War II. Her mother, Lene, meets her father, Hans, and they fall in love and marry. As the war breaks out, Hans is conscripted into the army and Lene suffers through air raids in Berlin. Her relationship with Hans becomes increasingly strained during his infrequent returns home on leave. She gives birth to Anna, and undergoes great hardship to keep her safe, crossing a forest in winter to escape to her family in the country, and later living a life of poverty in the ruins of postwar Berlin. As life returns to normal after the war, she and Hans are unable to rekindle their love, and Lene spirals into depression, exacerbated by the affliction of a crippling facial paralysis. The film ends with the suicidal Lene facing a hopeless future.
Cast
- Eva Mattes as Lene
- Ernst Jacobi as Hans
- Elisabeth Stepanek as Hanne
- Angelika Thomas as Lydia
- Rainer Friedrichsen as Ulrich
- Gisela Stein as Aunt Ihmchen
- Fritz Lichtenhahn as Uncle Bertrand
- Anna Sanders as Anna
Awards
In 1980, the film won the Grand Prix at the Créteil International Women's Film Festival and was nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear at the 30th Berlin International Film Festival.[1]
References
- ^ "Awards for Deutschland bleiche Mutter". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080616/awards. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
External links
- Germany, Pale Mother at the Internet Movie Database
- Germany Pale Mother at AllRovi
Cinema of Germany 
Film chronology · German Empire 1895–1918 · Weimar Germany 1919–1933 · Nazi Germany 1933–1945 · East Germany (1945–1990) ·
(West) Germany 1945–present · 1945-1959 · 1960s · 1970s · 1980s · 1990s · 2000s · 2010s
Actors · Directors · Films A–Z · Cinematographers · Festivals · Producers · Composers · ScreenwritersCategories:- German-language films
- 1980 films
- 1980s drama films
- West German films
- Films directed by Helma Sanders-Brahms
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