Under the Pavement Lies the Strand (German: Unter dem Pflaster ist der Strand) is a 1975 West German black-and-white drama film directed by Helma Sanders-Brahms. This low-budget film was her first feature film. Prior to making the film, Sanders-Brahms had little to no distinct contact with the women's rights movement.
Plot
The film deals with the aftermath of the 1968 student rebellions in Germany as experienced by two fervent participants. Though the country experienced sweeping reforms in the years following, two radicals-turned-successful Berlin stage actors and lovers are grappling with their growing insignificance and the demands of adulthood. After a night of intense debate about the past and their future, the couple begins garnering support to fight a new abortion bill. However, their rekindled zeal is soon complicated by an unexpected pregnancy.
Cast
- Grischa Huber as Grischa
- Heinrich Giskes as Heinrich
- Ursula von Berg as Berlin Woman
- Gesine Strempel as Berlin Woman
- Traute Klier-Siebert as Berlin Woman
- Barbara Finkenstädt as Berlin Woman
- Heinz Hoenig
- Günter Lampe
Release
The film was released on DVD by Facets Multi-Media in 2008.
Reception
Wendy Ellen Everett and Axel Goodbody, the editors of Revisiting Space: Space and Place in European Cinema, wrote that this film "became a cult film in the German feminist movement." The film's main actress and actor won the Deutscher Filmpreis (Filmband in Gold) in 1975 and it was recently called one of Sanders-Brahms' best films by Salon critic Andrew O'Hehir. PopMatters critic Stuart Henderson has also referred to the film as a "revelation" and a "fascinating and important film." The Philadelphia City Paper stated that the film was "hailed" as a "cult film for the feminist movement" and noted that it is still being screened in repertory cinemas and it has also been called a "film still of vital interest."
References
External links
- Under the Pavement Lies the Strand at the Internet Movie Database
- Under the Pavement Lies the Strand at Rotten Tomatoes
- Under the Pavement Lies the Strand at AllMovie
- Under the Pavement Lies the Strand at the TCM Movie Database
- Unter dem Pflaster ist der Strand at Film Portal (German)