"The chronicle of the children of Golzow, pupils in a village in the Oderbruch region, is the oldest longitudinal documentary in film history. 18 films were made over a period of more than four decades, among them "Lebensläufe" (Life Histories, 1980), the best known of the episodes made in socialist East Germany. The new film brings two of the children portrayed back then: Ilona, a skilled electronics worker and later a youth functionary; and Winfried, an electronics construction engineer, commander of the militia of a cellulose factory for a while. Aside from political activists Ilona and Winfried, the new film portrays Jürgen, Petra, and Christian. Their life stories on film are shorter, because the filmmakers long lost track of them. Now more than 50 years old, Jürgen, a housepainter, today a transport and warehouse worker, and Christian, a fitter-machinist and today the house technician at a government development bank, were all willing to appear in the newest installment. Petra, who like Winfried completed college-prep high school, wanted to become a doctor. She went to Mecklenburg as a construction engineer and dropped out of the series at the early 80th. So her portrait ends before the Wall fell. But the fragmentary quality, with great leaps in time and biographical lacunae, has its own interest and raises fascinating questions." Barbara and Winfried Junge
Production: à jour Film- und Fernsehproduktion, RBB
World Sales: Progress Film-Verleih
Screenplay: Barbara und Winfried Junge, based on an idea by Karl Gass
Cinematographer: Hans-Eberhard Leupold, Harald Klix u.a.
Composer: Gerhard Rosenfeld, Kurt Grottke
Sound: Eberhard Schwarz, Hannes Schreier u.a.
Editor: Barbara Junge
Text, Narrator: Winfried Junge
With: Jürgen Fröhlich, Petra Hadlich, Christian Struwe, Ilona Müller, Winfried Jerchel
Format, screen ratio: 35mm, 1:1.37, Color and b/w
Running time: 278 minutes, 24 frames/sec.
Language: German
Foto: © Progress Film-Verleih
