Verwirrung der Liebe
Encyclopedia
Love's Confusion is an East German romantic comedy
film directed by Slátan Dudow
. It was released in 1959.
, where they encounter each other several times while enjoying the local attractions. They all resolve to marry their new partners. Only when they are headed toward the same registration office, do they realize their behavior was motivated by spite and anger. They again switch partners: Sonja marries Dieter and Siegi marries Edy.
, the picture was unprecedentedly libertine in regards to sexuality .
The film was the screen debut of actress Angelica Domröse
, who has been selected from among 800 contestants who applied for auditions. Principal photography lasted eleven months.
Dudow's work greatly its approved budget, which was originally set on 2,309,500 East German Mark
; additional costs reached some 925,000 DDM. Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler
published an article in Neues Deutschland
critical of the delays and expenditures.
In addition, the director faced difficulties in including a scene featuring nude bathing. While the DEFA studio insisted on its removal, Dudow attempted to preserve it by turning it into a dream sequence
; he appealed to Minister of Culture Alexander Abusch
, a former naturist who appeared in Dudow's 1932 Kuhle Wampe
as a nude extra. Abusch forwarded the decision directly to Walter Ulbricht
, who denied the request.
Neues Deutschland
critic Horst Knietzsch wrote that the film was "an attempt to demonstrate in an amusing fashion the victorious strength of socialist life." Der Morgen
reviewer Christoph Funke commented that "the love of young people today... Knows no tragic consequences, since it is rooted in socialist order." West German Heinz Kersten noted that Love's Confusion was "refreshing" as it virtually lacked a political message, a rare feature in East German cinema.
Antonin and Miera Liehm defined the film as an "exception among DEFA's productions and an honorable conclusion of Dudow's career."
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Comedy can refer to* Romantic Comedy , a 1979 play written by Bernard Slade* Romantic Comedy , a 1983 film adapted from the play and starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen...
film directed by Slátan Dudow
Slatan Dudow
Slatan Theodor Dudow was a Bulgarian born film director and screenwriter who made a number of films in the Weimar Republic and East Germany....
. It was released in 1959.
Plot
Students Dieter and Sonja, who are a couple for several years, attend a masquerade. Dieter confuses young Siegi with his friend and dances with her. He cannot forget her even after realizing she is not Sonja, and falls in love with her. Sonja, bitter and jealous, starts an affair with Siegi's boyfriend, Edy. The two new couples go on vacation in the Baltic SeaBaltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
, where they encounter each other several times while enjoying the local attractions. They all resolve to marry their new partners. Only when they are headed toward the same registration office, do they realize their behavior was motivated by spite and anger. They again switch partners: Sonja marries Dieter and Siegi marries Edy.
Cast
- Angelica DomröseAngelica DomröseAngelica Domröse 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 prisoner of war from France.-Life:After training as a shorthand typist Domröse worked in a...
: Siegi - Annekathrin Bürger: Sonja
- Willi Schrade: Dieter
- Stefan Lisewski: Edy
- Martin Flörchinger: Professor Boerwald
- Erik S. Klein: Professor for social sciences
- Friedrich Richter: Professor Böck
- Werner DisselWerner DisselWerner Friedrich Dissel was a German actor and director.-Biography:Dissel's began working as a newspaper photographer in the late 1920s. After the Nazis' rise to power, he became a member of an antifascist group headed by Harro Schulze-Boysen, and was involved in the resistance newspaper Wille zum...
: taxi driver - Ursula Fröhlich: Sonja's mother
Production
Love's Confusion was Dudow's last film. Influenced by the relaxed political climate ushered with the Khrushchev ThawKhrushchev Thaw
The Khrushchev Thaw refers to the period from the mid 1950s to the early 1960s, when repression and censorship in the Soviet Union were partially reversed and millions of Soviet political prisoners were released from Gulag labor camps, due to Nikita Khrushchev's policies of de-Stalinization and...
, the picture was unprecedentedly libertine in regards to sexuality .
The film was the screen debut of actress Angelica Domröse
Angelica Domröse
Angelica Domröse 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 prisoner of war from France.-Life:After training as a shorthand typist Domröse worked in a...
, who has been selected from among 800 contestants who applied for auditions. Principal photography lasted eleven months.
Dudow's work greatly its approved budget, which was originally set on 2,309,500 East German Mark
East German mark
The East German mark commonly called the eastern mark , in East Germany only Mark, was the currency of the German Democratic Republic . Its ISO 4217 currency code was DDM...
; additional costs reached some 925,000 DDM. Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler
Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler
Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler was an East German journalist, propagandist, and host of the television show Der schwarze Kanal from March 21, 1960 to October 30, 1989....
published an article in Neues Deutschland
Neues Deutschland
Neues Deutschland is a national German daily newspaper. It was the official party newspaper of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany , which governed the German Democratic Republic , and as such served as one of the party's most important organs...
critical of the delays and expenditures.
In addition, the director faced difficulties in including a scene featuring nude bathing. While the DEFA studio insisted on its removal, Dudow attempted to preserve it by turning it into a dream sequence
Dream sequence
A dream sequence is a technique used in storytelling, particularly in television and film, to set apart a brief interlude from the main story. The interlude may consist of a flashback, a flashforward, a fantasy, a vision, a dream, or some other element. Commonly, dream sequences appear in many...
; he appealed to Minister of Culture Alexander Abusch
Alexander Abusch
Alexander Abusch was a German journalist, writer and politician. Abusch joined the Communist Party of Germany in 1918. He would serve as editor of some KPD publications. In 1937, he became part of the exiled KPD leadership in Paris, later in Toulouse. In 1941 he shifted to Mexico, were he became...
, a former naturist who appeared in Dudow's 1932 Kuhle Wampe
Kuhle Wampe
Kuhle Wampe is a 1932 German feature film about unemployment and left wing politics in the Weimar Republic. The script was conceived and written by Bertolt Brecht...
as a nude extra. Abusch forwarded the decision directly to Walter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht was a German communist politician. As First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1950 to 1971 , he played a leading role in the creation of the Weimar-era Communist Party of Germany and later in the early development and...
, who denied the request.
Reception
Love's Confusion sold 1,900,000 tickets in East Germany. While it was not met with approval by government officials and the cultural establishment, it enjoyed great popularity with audiences, becoming "a huge hit."Neues Deutschland
Neues Deutschland
Neues Deutschland is a national German daily newspaper. It was the official party newspaper of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany , which governed the German Democratic Republic , and as such served as one of the party's most important organs...
critic Horst Knietzsch wrote that the film was "an attempt to demonstrate in an amusing fashion the victorious strength of socialist life." Der Morgen
Der Morgen
Der Morgen was a daily newspaper published in the GDR. Der Morgen was the central organ of the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany. It was published from August 3, 1945 on, six times a week...
reviewer Christoph Funke commented that "the love of young people today... Knows no tragic consequences, since it is rooted in socialist order." West German Heinz Kersten noted that Love's Confusion was "refreshing" as it virtually lacked a political message, a rare feature in East German cinema.
Antonin and Miera Liehm defined the film as an "exception among DEFA's productions and an honorable conclusion of Dudow's career."
External links
- Verwirrung der Liebe. cinema.de.
- Verwirrung der Liebe. progress-film.de.
- Verwirrung der Liebe. filmportal.de.