Our Short Life
Original title: (Unser kurzes Leben)
GDR,
1980,
109 min,
colorIn German; English subtitles
The fun-loving, 26-year-old architect Franziska Linkerhand (Simone Frost) works for a famous professor. Yet, she feels restrained by her dependence on him and longs to take risks. When her marriage falls apart, she moves to a small town for a fresh start. Franziska approaches her new life with vigor and idealism. Many of her colleagues have given in to the dictates of economic restrictions and prefabricated apartment blocks; but Franziska hangs onto her ideals and, as in her private life, is not willing to compromise…
Special features: - Turn Subtitles On/Off
- New digitally restored transfer
- Biographies & Filmographies
- “Our Short Life: Building and Dwelling in Late Socialism,” by Hunter Bivens, Univ. of California Santa Cruz
- Lothar Warneke on Our Short Life, 1999, 7 min.
- “Finding the Right Path in Our Short Life We Are Given,” Director Lothar Warneke in Conversation with Film Historian Erika Richter, 2001-2004. Written interview.
- “Designing Meaningful Spaces: Alfred Hirschmeier’s Scenography for Our Short Life,” by Annette Dorgerloh, Humboldt University Berlin