213:, Christmas Eve. Veteran communist and factory director Walter Lörke is told by his daughter Anne that she became pregnant by a young man named Thomas Ostermann, whom she intends to marry. Thomas is revealed to be a sharp critic of the government. Enraged, Walter leaves the house. Outside, he begins to inquire about his would-be son-in-law. After a clumsy voyage in the streets of the city, during which he encounters many absurd phenomena, he discovers that Thomas had a friend whose parents escaped to
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as an example to the SED's attempt to uphold the holiday's traditions as a time of familial bonding while completely rejecting any religious connotation. A "Socialist miracle" of reconciliation between oneself and the leading ideology replaced the
Christian-inspired one. The film presented the
217:. The friend was ostracized by society, but Thomas did not shun him, and was therefore barred from entering university. Walter returns home and talks to Thomas, who realizes that although he suffered injustices, he remains true to the ideals of the party. The two reconcile.
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East German cinema expert Joshua
Feinstein wrote that the film was one of the "more outlandish" made at the time, that reminded him of
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Christmas costumes of East
Germany, that were a readjustment of the old tradition: the fir tree, for example, was decorated by little
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The film was part of a wave of comedies, relatively free from political restrictions, that were produced by
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as a "better than average comedy, with barbed satire against dogmatic beliefs... with brilliant acting".
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353:. Perry interpreted the film as a typical "happy end Christmas story" with a communist setting.
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received the authorization to make the picture after using the influence of the leading actor
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The
Triumph of the Ordinary: Depictions of Daily Life in the East German Cinema, 1949-1989
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allowed a more relaxed cultural climate, that came to an end in the 1965 XI Plenum of the
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Zwischen Regie und Regime. Die
Filmpolitik der SED im Spiegel der DEFA-Produktionen
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Joe Perry, who researched the
Christmas costumes in Germany, considered
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the anti-Stalinist approach espoused by the Soviet Union
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40:Vratislav Blažek (original play), Hermann Kant
455:. University of North Carolina Press (2010).
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453:Christmas in Germany: A Cultural History
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256:Marianne Wünscher - Mrs. Klinkhöfer
277:Walter E. Fuß - Professor Flimrich
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296:at the early 1960s. At the time,
324:The German Film Lexicon defined
304:. The script was adapted from a
302:Socialist Unity Party of Germany
547:Films directed by Günter Reisch
253:Herwart Grosse - Mr. Ostermann
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542:German Christmas comedy films
274:Gerd Ehlers - drunken butcher
537:1960s Christmas comedy films
334:Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
247:Günter Junghans - Karl Lörke
532:1960s German-language films
238:Karin Schröder - Anne Lörke
202:. It was released in 1962.
194:) is an East German comedy
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271:Fred Delmare - taxi driver
250:Rosemarie Schelenz - Peggy
133:October 12, 1962
363:List of Christmas films
478:A Lively Christmas Eve
179:A Lively Christmas Eve
22:A Lively Christmas Eve
16:1962 East Germany film
500:on DEFA Sternstunden.
552:Films set in Dresden
421:German Film Lexicon.
418:Ach, du fröhliche...
383:Ach, du fröhliche...
346:Ach, du Fröhliche...
326:Ach, du Fröhliche...
192:Oh, You Merry One...
188:Ach, du fröhliche...
505:Ach du fröhliche...
497:Ach du fröhliche...
489:Ach du fröhliche...
557:1960s German films
430:Joshua Feinstein.
244:- Thomas Ostermann
527:East German films
461:978-0-8078-3364-3
440:978-0-8078-5385-6
405:978-3-86153-262-0
395:Dagmar Schittly.
386:on DEFA-Stiftung.
314:Erwin Geschonneck
233:Mathilde Danegger
227:Erwin Geschonneck
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149:Running time
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48:Hans Mahlich
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442:. Page 106.
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281:Horst Giese
260:Walter Jupé
94:Helmut Nier
67:Gerry Wolff
63:Narrated by
45:Produced by
27:Directed by
522:1962 films
516:Categories
369:References
288:Production
153:94 minutes
137:1962-10-12
100:Production
37:Written by
320:Reception
83:Edited by
357:See also
351:sputniks
166:Language
91:Music by
53:Starring
283:- Gisse
211:Dresden
158:Country
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170:German
339:Stasi
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221:Cast
206:Plot
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