Die Stille nach dem Schuß (2000)

Director:

Volker Schlöndorff

Writers:

Wolfgang Kohlhaase (writer)
Volker Schlöndorff (writer)

Release Date:

14 September 2000 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama | History | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

Rita Vogt is a radical West German terrorist who abandons the revolution and settles in East Germany...

Plot Keywords:

Terrorist | East Germany | Radical | Germany | New Identity

Awards:

4 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Bibiana Beglau	...	Rita Vogt
Martin Wuttke	...	Erwin Hull
Nadja Uhl	...	Tatjana
Harald Schrott	...	Andreas 'Andi' Klein
Alexander Beyer	...	Jochen Pettka
Jenny Schily	...	Friederike Adebach
Mario Irrek	...	Joachim Klatte
Franca Kastein	...	Anna
Thomas Arnold	...	Gerngross
Dietrich Körner	...	General
Rudolf Donath	...	Tatjanas Vater
Monika Pietsch	...	Tatjanas Mutter
Matthias Wien	...	Doktor Gruber (as Matti Wien)
Petra Ehlert	...	Beate
Hannelore Schubert	...	Christa

Also Known As:

Legend of Rita (USA)
Rita's Legends (International: English title)
The Legends of Rita (International: English title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German | French | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIB | South Korea:12

Filming Locations:

Baltic Sea

Company:

ARTE

Movie Connections:

References Viva Maria! (1965)

Soundtrack:

Street Fighting Man

Back in the DDR

This is not the strongest film by Schlondorff, but it is very entertaining nonetheless. Rita is a woman of a thousand disguises: some adopted for her terrorist roles in the West, some given to her by her Stasi handler in the East, and some adopted to cope with the jarring dissonances that people experienced under Communism.

The time is never right for Rita. She is told that since the DDR is about to sign a pact against terrorism, she and her comrades are excess baggage. When her boyfriend announces he's going to the USSR to work, she has to tell him she can't go with him, as she'd be unsafe there. Plane tickets to Beirut are offered to them: Rita refuses but Andreas and the others go (anything to get away from the socialist nightmare). Rita's refusal saves her life, of course.

I found the moral questions that a politically engaged citizen of either of the former two Germanies had to face were brought out better in The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum, but Rita has many lovely moments.