The Legend of Paul and Paula

The Legend of Paul and Paula
(Die Legende von Paul und Paula)
Directed by Heiner Carow
Produced by Erich Albrecht
Written by Ulrich Plenzdorf and Heiner Carow
Starring Angelica Domröse
Winfried Glatzeder
Music by Peter Gotthardt
Cinematography Jürgen Brauer
Edited by Evelyn Carow
Distributed by DEFA
Release dates
1973
Running time
105 minutes
Language German
Budget N/A

Die Legende von Paul und Paula (English: The Legend of Paul and Paula) is a 1973 tragicomic East German film directed by Heiner Carow. A novel by Ulrich Plenzdorf named Die Legende vom Glück ohne Ende was based on this film.[1]

The film was extremely popular on release and had drawn 3,294,985 viewers[2] (the GDR had a population at the time of around 17 million). However, due to the film's political overtones it was almost not released; East German leader Erich Honecker personally decided to allow it to be shown. Today it is considered one of the best-known East German films.

Plot summary

Paul is a minor bureaucrat in East Berlin, where he lives with his wife and their son in a modern high-rise apartment building. While he is well educated and professionally ambitious, he is generally bored with his life. He cannot relate to his unsophisticated wife, who is repeatedly unfaithful, even bringing men home to their apartment when Paul is away. Paula, a grocery store cashier and single mother of two, lives in a run-down, prewar building directly across from Paul's modern high-rise. Having thrown out her philandering live-in lover (and father of her younger child), she is seeking more happiness in her tedious life.

Paul and Paula meet at a nightclub and instantly connect. Paula falls in love with Paul and pursues him passionately. He desires her, but is reluctant to endanger his career and his marriage. When one of Paula's children is killed in an accident, Paul realizes that Paula is more important than his career and his marriage, but she is so crushed by her loss that she rejects him. Seeking security, she seriously contemplates marriage with an older, successful, but dull businessman, and Paul must go to great lengths to win Paula back. Ultimately, he succeeds and they move in together, but she dies giving birth to their child.

Trivia

Main cast

References

External links

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