''Die Legende von Paul und Paula'' (; English: ''The Legend of Paul and Paula'') is a

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

tragicomic Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragic and comic forms. Most often seen in dramatic literature, the term can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the overall mood or a serious ...

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

film directed by

Heiner Carow Heiner Carow (19 September 1929 – 1 February 1997) was a German film director and screenwriter. His 1986 film '' So Many Dreams'' was entered into the 37th Berlin International Film Festival. The following year, he was a member of the jury at ...

. A novel by

Ulrich Plenzdorf Ulrich Plenzdorf (; 26 October 1934 – 9 August 2007) was a German author and dramatist. Life Born in Berlin, Plenzdorf studied Philosophy in Leipzig, but graduated with a degree in film. He found work at DEFA. He became famous in both East a ...

named ''Die Legende vom Glück ohne Ende'' was based on this film. The film was extremely popular on release and drew 3,294,985 viewers (the GDR had a population at the time of around 17 million). However, due to the film's political overtones it was almost not released. East German leader

Erich Honecker Erich Ernst Paul Honecker (; 25 August 1912 – 29 May 1994) was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1971 until shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. He held the posts ...

personally decided to allow it to be shown. Today it is one of the best-known East German films.

Plot summary

Paul is a minor bureaucrat in East Berlin, where he lives with his wife and their son in a modern high-rise apartment building. While he is well educated and professionally ambitious, he is generally bored with his life. He cannot relate to his unsophisticated wife, who is repeatedly unfaithful, even bringing men home to their apartment when Paul is away. Paula, a grocery store cashier and single mother of two, lives in a run-down, prewar building directly across from Paul's modern high-rise. Having thrown out her philandering live-in lover (and father of her younger child), she is seeking more happiness in her tedious life. Paul and Paula meet at a nightclub and instantly connect. Paula falls in love with Paul and pursues him passionately. He desires her, but is reluctant to endanger his career and his marriage. When one of Paula's children is killed in an accident, Paul realizes that Paula is more important than his career and his marriage, but she is so crushed by her loss that she rejects him. Seeking security, she seriously contemplates marriage with an older, successful but dull businessman, and Paul must go to great lengths to win Paula back. Ultimately, he succeeds and they move in together, but she dies giving birth to their child.

Trivia

*The film made the band Puhdys a household name in East Germany. The band performs four songs in the film, all of which drew heavily upon specific western pop songs. *The film's enduring popularity led to a stretch of waterfront on the Rummelsburger See (Rummelsburg Lake) in

Berlin-Lichtenberg Lichtenberg () is a quarter (''Ortsteil'') of Berlin in the homonymous borough (''Bezirk'') of Lichtenberg. Until 2001 it was an autonomous district with the localities of Fennpfuhl, Rummelsburg, Friedrichsfelde and Karlshorst. History The hi ...

, near where the boat scene was filmed, to be renamed ''Paul und Paula-Ufer'' (Paul And Paula Shore). *Paul's new apartment was on the third floor of Singerstraße 51 in

Friedrichshain Friedrichshain () is a quarter (''Ortsteil'') of the borough of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg in Berlin, Germany. From its creation in 1920 until 2001, it was a freestanding city borough. Formerly part of East Berlin, it is adjacent to Mitte, Prenzl ...

. Paula's apartment across the street was demolished, as shown in the film. A supermarket now occupies part of the site. *

Berlin Ostbahnhof Berlin Ostbahnhof (German for Berlin East railway station) is a main line railway station in Berlin, Germany. It is located in the Friedrichshain quarter, now part of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough, and has undergone several name changes in i ...

can briefly be seen in some of the outdoor scenes, as it is only a short distance from the Singerstraße. The supermarket where Paula worked is located at what was then ''Leninplatz'' (now ''Platz der Vereinten Nationen''). *Former

German chancellor The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the Ge ...

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...

revealed this movie to be her favorite.

Cast

Angelica Domröse Angelica Domröse (; born April 4, 1941, in Berlin) is a German actress, who became famous in the role of Paula in Heiner Carow's film '' The Legend of Paul and Paula''. Her Mediterranean appearance is the result of her biological father being a ...

- Paula (Adam) *

Winfried Glatzeder Winfried Glatzeder (born 26 April 1945) is a German television actor and playwright. He began his acting career in East Germany in the 1960s. In the early 1970s, he made his breakthrough by starring in films such as '' Zeit der Störche'' and ' ...

- Paul * Heidemarie Wenzel - Die Schöne (Ines) *

Fred Delmare Werner Vorndran (24 April 1922 – 1 May 2009), known professionally as Fred Delmare, was a German actor. Life and work Werner Vorndran was the son of a carpenter and a seamstress and grew up in Hüttensteinach at Sonneberg in Thuringia, wh ...

- Reifen-Saft *

Rolf Ludwig Rolf Ludwig (28 July 1925 – 27 March 1999) was a German actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1952 to 1997. Selected filmography References External links * 1925 births 1999 deaths Male actors from Stockholm Germ ...

- Professor * - Frau des Schießbudenbesitzers * - Schießbudenbesitzer * - Kollege Schmidt * - Kumpel

References

External links

*
DEFA summary (in English)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Legend Of Paul And Paula, The 1973 films Films set in Berlin East German films 1970s German-language films Films directed by Heiner Carow Babelsberg Studio films