Romanze mit Amélie

At the beginning of the film, the words “Es war eine große Liebe, und ich wäre gerne daran zugrunde gegangen, wenn man mich gelassen hätte.” (It was a great love, and I would have gladly succumbed to it if I had been allowed to.) are emblazoned in red letters on the screen. ROMANCE WITH AMÉLIE tells of a love story between two adolescents (played by Thomas Stecher and Brit Gülland) in the winter of 1944/5, the last of the war. Sensitively staged with strong visual means, the film is loosely based on the legend of the king’s children who cannot stay together because the world, in which they live does not allow two people of different origins to share a future, and on the novel of the same name by Benito Wogatzki, which was widely read in the GDR. It enjoyed great popularity among younger members of the audience after its theatrical release in January 1982. The following month, it screened in the competition of the Berlinale – something that only a few DEFA productions were granted. After almost 40 years, the film deserves to be rediscovered. (Philip Zengel)