Die Frau und der Fremde (1985)
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Directors
Cast
Kathrin Waligura, Joachim Lätsch, Peter Zimmermann, Katrin Knappe, Ulrich Mühe, Christine Schorn
A German prisoner of war escapes to find his comrade’s wife, whose homecoming hopes have already been shattered by a report of her husband’s death.
The story
In 1918, near the end of the war, German soldiers Karl and Richard are prisoners of war in Russia. While Karl has no one waiting for him at home, Richard talks about his wife, Anna. Karl escapes and makes the long journey to Germany, where he seeks Anna out and passes himself off as Richard. Anna immediately recognizes that he is not her husband. She had been informed that Richard was killed, however, and accepts the stranger who knows so much about her. The two soon form a relationship, setting in motion a complicated conflict over love, loyalty, and a marriage presumed lost.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In the final year of the war, 1918, the two German soldiers Karl and Richard are prisoners of war in Russia. While no woman is waiting at home for Karl, Richard talks at length about his Anna. Karl manages to escape captivity and travel more than a thousand kilometers to Germany. He seeks Anna out and pretends to be Richard. Anna is not fooled for a moment: she knows Karl is not Richard. But since she was officially notified shortly after the war began that Richard had been killed, and given the shortage of men during the war, she takes in the stranger who knows so much about her. They quickly become a couple and sleep together. Karl gets a job at a munitions factory, and Anna becomes pregnant. But a few months after the war ends, Richard arrives at the apartment. Stunned, he realizes that his wife now belongs to his comrade. Anna and Karl leave the apartment and move away.
Genres
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