After eight years in exile Martin returns to Berlin. He was involved in the German Revolution of 1918/1919 and had to leave the country as a result. Impoverished and lonely, he struggles on alone until the market saleswoman Hanne offers him shelter, although she does not have much money either. They fall in love and Martin even finds work on the construction site for the subway through Tempelhofer Feld. One day, however, he collapses there, whereupon the pregnant Hanne tries to nurse him back to health.
Acting
Henny Porten's performance — every glance holds a whole life.
Production
Authentic Tempelhofer Feld location shooting, 1928 Berlin frozen in time.
Director
Carl Froelich
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot during the peak of Weimar cinema's social realist movement, before sound and fascism reshaped German film entirely.
Tempelhofer Feld's subway construction would later become part of Hitler's massive public works projects — the film unknowingly documents infrastructure soon co-opted by Nazi propaganda.
DE
