Beate Holle

Various aspects of German history are explored from several angles in a series of odd sequences. Gabi Teichert (Hannelore Hogar) is both a history teacher and a patriot. One day she goes out into the winter landscape carrying a shovel (digging for the truth?). She comes across is a dead soldier killed at the battle of Leningrad, whose symbolically disembodied knee speaks to her... (All Movie Guide)

Technical devices such as fast-motion or colorization contest the authority of "realistic" images of the world. Impossible stories - a murdered Yugoslav factory manager is miraculously brought back to life by two petty criminals - defy all ordinary dramatic logic. Stage tricks are unmasked and one of the most poignant moments in opera - the mistaken killing of Rigoletto's daughter - is coolly analyzed by a wardrobe mistress. (pdome.org)