Marta, Marta (1979)

Seventeen-year-old Marta, whose real name is Martina, lives in East Berlin. She is a tomboy and is unsure what kind of work she wants to do after finishing school. The only thing she knows is that it should be something “sensible.” So she abruptly decides to become a nurse, without realizing the responsibility the profession entails. In her personal life, she tries to patch up her parents’ troubled marriage. She is also secretly in a relationship with her young neighbor, Monty. During her first few weeks at the hospital, Marta struggles to get used to the strict rules, and she feels that time is passing too slowly until she can finally work with the patients. So far, all she has to do is clean, prepare and hand out food, take temperatures, and things like that. The changes in her circumstances bring on a minor identity crisis. Monty helps her get through it a little. But they soon have an argument because Marta is jealous when Monty flirts with her friend. At the hospital, Marta develops a special relationship with the chief physician, whom she is actually afraid of. At first, she only wants to ask him questions, and he tells her that she has no right to do so. Even so—or perhaps for that very reason—the young girl impresses him, and he has many profound conversations with her. That does not keep Marta from making a mistake when speaking to a patient. She gives the patient false hope of recovery because she simply was not prepared for how she should have responded. The chief physician wants to punish her, but the head nurse argues that Marta should regain her confidence the next day through a positive experience. Marta is therefore allowed to help with a birth, and this time she does everything right. This emotionally positive experience gives Marta new courage, and she enjoys the rest of the day in good spirits. Marta also gradually grows up in her personal life: she accepts her separation from Monty, moves into her own apartment, and her parents manage without her. They even move away from Berlin because of work.