''The Rabbit Is Me'' () is an

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

dramatic film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular su ...

directed by

Kurt Maetzig Kurt Maetzig (25 January 1911 – 8 August 2012) was a German film director who had a significant effect on the film industry in East Germany. He was one of the most respected filmmakers of the GDR. After his retirement he lived in Wildkuh ...

. Based on the novel by , it was filmed in 1965.

Plot

Nineteen-year-old Maria Morzeck dreams of studying

Slavistics Slavic (American English) or Slavonic (British English) studies, also known as Slavistics, is the academic field of area studies concerned with Slavic peoples, languages, literature, history, and culture. Originally, a Slavist or Slavicist was ...

, but her hopes are shattered when her brother, Dieter, is sent to prison after being convicted of sedition against the state. She cannot enter college, and becomes a waitress. Maria meets and falls in love with Paul Deister, an older, married man who turns out to be the judge who convicted her brother. Their affair ends when Deister is exposed as hypocritical and corrupt. After Dieter's release, he learns of his sister's relationship with the judge and assaults her. Eventually, Maria distances herself from both of them, and decides to pursue her forgotten dream.

Cast

Production

The film was based on Manfred Bieler's book ''Maria Morzeck or the Rabbit is Me''. It was made in the aftermath of the VI Party Congress of the

Socialist Unity Party The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (, ; SED, ) was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from the country's foundation in 1949 until its dissolution after the Peaceful Revolution in 1989. It was a Ma ...

in January 1963, during which the establishment allowed a measure of liberalization in the cultural life of East Germany. Although Bieler's novel was highly critical of the court system, he and Maetzig took care to include several "alibi scenes" in the film that were intended to put the state in a better light and also prevent the banning of the picture. The scenes were also meant to present the judicial reforms that took place between 1961 and 1963.

Reception

The short era of liberalization ended gradually when

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 190610 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, his death in 1982 as w ...

took power in the Soviet Union and introduced a conservative, more repressive course on cultural issues. The film, alongside eleven other cinematic works that were deemed politically damaging, was banned by the Central Committee of the SED at its XI Plenum in December 1965. It was only made legal again in 1990. The banned films were known as "cellar films" or "rabbit films" - the second sobriquet having been derived from the film's title. In 1990, shortly before the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, the picture was released for public screening, and presented in the Berlin and Locarno film festivals. In 1995 it was selected as one of the 100 most important German films by a group of historians and critics. Daniela Berghahn noted that ''The Rabbit Is Me'' was unprecedented in its portrayal of judicial corruption, sexual themes and criticism of the East German establishment.

References

Bibliography

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External links

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original 1965 poster
on ostfilm.de. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rabbit Is Me 1965 films East German films 1960s German-language films Films set in Berlin Films directed by Kurt Maetzig 1965 drama films German black-and-white films Films based on German novels