Das schreckliche Mädchen

Articulate and inquisitive, Sonja sets out to uncover the history of resistance against the Nazi regime in her hometown of Pfilzing for an article competition. She begins her research with ambition, only to encounter resistance that stifles the quest for truth: the suppression of the past and a vow of silence seal the lips of the small town... In a "Brechtian" style, Verhoeven transforms the true story of a woman branded a "nest-fouler" into a timeless chamber drama; here, the longing for a sanitized past is met with exaggeration, satire, and astute polemic. Senta Berger makes this work possible—exposing the ongoing distortion of German history—through her company, Sentana Filmproduktion.
(Lien May Lucas)