Locarno film festival digs up postwar German classics

Germans initially chose denial as a way to cope with the horrors of war, which was also reflected in its cinema. However, there were exceptions to that rule: "Dogs, Do You Want to Live Forever?" by Frank Wisbar (1959) tried to piece together the Battle of Stalingrad. Wisbar's film was intended to show the pointlessness and brutality of war.

The role of women remained unchanged after the war: Germany's budding democracy was built on patriarchy in the 1950s. "The Confession of Ina Kahr" in 1954 picks up on themes of submission of women in marriage and domestic abuse. The movie by G.W. Pabst examines events in protagonist Ina Kahr's life, using flashbacks as she faces trial for the murder of her husband.

Other movies from that era also picked up on the theme of women's rights. "The Glass Tower" from 1957 depicts the suffering of a woman under her domineering husband.The stereotype of the controlling male was not just fiction in those days. Director Harald Braun's movie, however, is also a nail-biting thriller with a happy ending.

A number of long-forgotten masterpieces of postwar cinema will be revived at the film Festival in Locarno. Not many movies dared to explore touchy subjects like the Nazi regime at the time, but there were exceptions like "The Devil Strikes at Night" by Robert Siodmak. The movie features German actor Mario Adorf and received rave reviews despite the political climate.

Mario Adorf was also the main actor in the 1959 drama "Am Tag, als der Regen kam" (The day the rain came), as he started to cement his career in film. The movie took a critical look at gang violence among youths in West Berlin. The film's soundtrack meanwhile featured a song with the same title, It was made famous by French chanteuse Dalida, and was one of her first major hits.

As the rules of engagement for the Cold War started to become clear, not everyone found Western values to be infallible. The 1961 movie "Black Gravel" by acclaimed director Helmut Käutner deals with corruption and prostitution at a U.S. army base in West Germany. The Locarno film festival will also be presenting this worthwhile title.

Some movies of the time are interesting because they show what life was like in Germany after many cities and towns had been reduced to ruins during the war. "Adventure in Berlin" from 1952 was filmed at many of Berlin's iconic sights such as the Brandenburg Gate or the Berlin Radio Tower.

The Festival del Film Locarno will highlight nearly 80 postwar movies from Germany. Running from August 3-13, it hopes to spark new interest in the often overlooked era of German filmmaking. Some of the movies presented are legendary treasures, such as the 1951 Peter Lorre movie ""The Lost One," while other films presented at the festival may be more obscure.