Helga und die Männer - Die sexuelle Revolution (1969)

In the wake of the student unrest and activities of the Extra-Parliamentary Opposition (APO) at West German universities in 1968, this new “Helga” film also takes up a central concern of the student body: the “sexual revolution.” Helga wants to write a feature on the subject for a magazine, and sets off for South America to research the situation in Latin America firsthand. In Brazil, she begins an affair with Carlos, her interpreter. Her husband, Michael, a biologist, approaches the same subject from a completely different angle than Helga’s sociological one and wants to conduct comparative scientific studies back home. Meanwhile, in Brazil, Helga broadens her horizons, visits the big city’s favelas (poor neighborhoods), and discusses with locals, students, and priests the failings of the past in matters of relationships and social life, as well as present-day dangers, such as uncontrolled population growth, which further exacerbates the economic crisis. Back home, Helga reunites with her husband, and the two have happily weathered their first serious marital crisis.