Das Kaninchen bin ich (1965)

Das Kaninchen bin ich: Directed by Kurt Maetzig. With Angelika Waller, Alfred Müller, Ilse Voigt, Wolfgang Winkler. The Rabbit Is Me was made in 1965 to encourage discussion of the democratization of East German society. In it, a young student has an affair with a judge who once sentenced her brother for political reasons; she eventually confronts him with his opportunism and hypocrisy. It is a sardonic portrayal of the German Democratic Republic’s judicial system and its social implications. The film was banned by officials as an anti-socialist, pessimistic and revisionist attack on the state. It henceforth lent its name to all the banned films of 1965, which became known as the “Rabbit Films.” After its release in 1990, The Rabbit Is Me earned critical praise as one of the most important and courageous works ever made in East Germany. It was screened at The Museum of Modern Art in 2005 as part of the film series Rebels with a Cause: The Cinema of East Germany.

“Whatu0026#39;s surprising is not that u0026quot;Das Kaninchen bin ichu0026quot;u0026#39;s viewing was banned in East Germany, but that its production was ever permitted in the first place. The filmu0026#39;s plot is simple: their parents dead, apolitical nineteen-year-old Maria Morzeck and her brother Dieter live with their aunt. Maria works as a waitress, hoping to go to university to become a translator or travel agent, when Dieter is accused of unspecified acts against the state and jailed for three years. By chance Maria meets Paul Deister, the married judge who sentenced Dieter; judge and Maria proceed to fall in love and carry on a happy affair. What attracts Deister and Maria is never made apparent. The characters are under-developed, but Das Kaninchenu0026#39;s criticism of the DDRu0026#39;s legal system is multi-faceted and striking. At Dieteru0026#39;s trial the prosecutor clears the courtroom of all unauthorized spectators, supposedly in order to serve state security. When Maria asks why only she and her aunt are expelled while the other 20 members of the public remain, sheu0026#39;s told the others were invited, leaving the viewer to wonder how many presumed common citizens are working for the Stasi. Such chilling questions regarding machinations of the state are raised with a wry humor which lends this film a delightful charm. Paulu0026#39;s character throughout remains a mystery to both the viewer and Maria. He seems to be a nice enough person, but then so does his wife – why is he cheating on her? Can Maria influence Paul to reduce Dieteru0026#39;s sentence? Paul was apparently harsh with Dieter out of genuine faith in the state apparatus, but how sincere are Paulu0026#39;s beliefs, how ideologically-driven are his actions really? Maria and Paulu0026#39;s actions and their motivations have personal and political aspects which only become clear with the filmu0026#39;s dramatic conclusion.”