''Divided Heaven'' (german: Der geteilte Himmel) is an

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 ...

drama 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. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Konrad Wolf Konrad Wolf (20 October 1925 – 7 March 1982) was an East German film director. He was the son of writer, doctor and diplomat Friedrich Wolf, and the younger brother of Stasi spymaster Markus Wolf. "Koni" was his nickname. Biography Beca ...

. It was released in 1964.

Plot

While recovering from a mental breakdown, the young Rita Seidel recalls the last two years, in which she fell in love with Manfred, a chemist who is ten years older. As Manfred became disillusioned with his opportunities in East Germany, he moved to the West. Rita followed him there and tried to persuade him to return but soon realized he would never do it. Rita comes to terms with the past and decides to concentrate on her work and the building of a socialist society. The film is set in the period immediately before the Berlin Wall was built.

Cast

* Renate Blume as Rita Seidel * Eberhard Esche as Manfred Herrfurth * as Meternagel *

Hilmar Thate Hilmar Thate (17 April 1931 – 14 September 2016) was a German actor. He appeared in 40 films and television shows between 1955 and 2016. Filmography References External links * 1931 births 2016 deaths German male film actors G ...

as Ernst Wendland * as Herrfurth * as Mrs. Herrfurth * as Ernst Schwarzenbach * as Martin Jung * as Sigrid * as Hänschen * as Ermisch * as Kuhl * as Karßuweit * as Melcherr * as

Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. T ...

's voice

Production

The film's script was adapted from

Christa Wolf Christa Wolf (; née Ihlenfeld; 18 March 1929 – 1 December 2011) was a German novelist and essayist.
Barbara Gard ...

's novel ''

Der geteilte Himmel ''Der geteilte Himmel'', known in English as either ''Divided Heaven'' or ''They Divided the Sky'', is a 1963 novel by the East German writer Christa Wolf. The author describes society and problems in the German Democratic Republic German(s) may ...

'' (''Divided Heaven''), released in 1963. Director Konrad Wolf (no relation to Christa Wolf's husband

Gerhard Wolf Gerhard Wolf (12 August 1896 – 23 March 1971) was a German diplomat who served as consul in Florence during World War II. Wolf was born in Dresden, the seventh and youngest child of an attorney of family law. After serving in the military, he st ...

) had read the author's manuscript before the book was published and decided to film it. The main filming took place in Halle from late 1963 to early 1964.

Reception

''Der geteilte Himmel'' was viewed by 1.5 million people in the first year after its premiere. In 1965, Konrad Wolf and leading actor Eberhard Esche both received the Erich Weinert Medal for their work on the film. West German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung described the film as "(i)mages of strict and restrained (black and white) beauty" Die Zeit's reviewer wrote "Although it was made by communists... Konrad and Christa Wolf had to break away from their belief in the party in order to make this picture... And that is why it is so convincing." West German author Hans Helmut Prinzler called it "the first candid attempt to portray the national consciousnesses in East Germany." The film was removed from circulation on several occasions in the following years, when the

Socialist Unity Party of Germany The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (german: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, ; SED, ), often known in English as the East German Communist Party, was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (GDR; East German ...

decreed it, depending on the political situation. In 1970, in one resolution to remove it a Ministry of Culture official concluded that it "unnecessarily over-stresses the theme of the flight from the Republic." In 1995, a group of historians and cinema researchers chose ''Der geteilte Himmel'' as one of the 100 most important German films ever made.

On DVD with English subtitles

''Divided Heaven'' was issued in June 2010 on Region 1 DVD by First Run Features. The subtitles are in only one language, English, with the descriptive text on the cover also indicated in English.''Divided Heaven'' at ''Amazon.com''
/ref> The English-subtitled DVD has not been reissued, but is available through

DEFA Film Library The DEFA Film Library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is the only research center and archive outside of Germany devoted to a broad spectrum of filmmaking from and related to the former German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany). R ...

References

External links

* *
''Der geteilte Himmel'' original posters
on ostfilm.de. {{Authority control 1964 films 1964 drama films German drama films East German films 1960s German-language films German black-and-white films Films directed by Konrad Wolf Babelsberg Studio films Films based on German novels 1960s German films