Brüder

Hamburg, late 19th century: The port is in turmoil, workers are demanding higher wages, holding meetings, and calling for strikes. Werner Hochbaum sets a family drama right in the middle of these social tensions. One brother works as a dockworker, the other as a policeman on the opposing side. BROTHERS focuses less on psychological nuances than on the dynamics of the class struggle itself, attempting "to create a proletarian film with simple means." Filmed with non-professional actors (and financed by the Social Democratic Party) amidst shabby working-class neighborhoods and documentary-style street scenes, the film combines social observation with expressive editing and symbolic imagery – culminating in the red-tinted flag fluttering in the wind at the end.

(Florian Widegger)