Forbidden Love (1990) - full transcript
18-year old Georg and 13-year old Barbara have been playing together as children. Play becomes love later, which leads to a catastrophe , as their parents are hostile leading to file a report to the court, as Barbara is still under age.
English subtitles by
your friend, Quester
"Forbidden Love"
(1990 Democratic Republic of Germany)
(Prosecutor) I'm bringing charges
against Georg Kalisch. (18yo)
Upon the minor, Barbara Behrend, (13yo)
he is accused of repeated and
continous sexual abuse.
(Judge)
The Defendant will rise.
♪ I'm Mrs. Bilab, the cow
moo, moo, moo.
♪ I'm Mrs. Bilab, the cow,
so close your eyes.
Are you coming, brother bull ?
Oh, Bilab the cow .
What do you want, brother bull?
Bilab the cow, come here.
*Thunder.*
Come on.
(Children mocking) Bilab, Bilab, Bilab.
Bilab, Bilab, Bilab, Bilab .
Are you done now?
I hope you’ll be my husband.
Oh, no.
*Crickets chirp*
Hey, Georg.
Mrs. Bilab.
Are you dreaming again?
My foot.
I twisted my foot.
Come here, put your arm
around my neck, Barbara.
-Hard to do?
-You are so big.
You have to tighten your grip.
What's that about?
Well go.
Just go, brother bull.
*Guinea Fowls cackle loudly*
Lend a hand.
Bring me something.
Georg.
You have our noisemakers.
Georg, now there’s 3 there.
For those creatures
no fence is too high.
Barbara.
Georg.
*loud babble of voices*
(Music from the speaker)
♪ ..and your monkey in the trees
♪ keeps the forest kempt..
Man!
*Children screech*
Victory!
*she screeches*
Barbie, where are you?
Georg!
Georg, Barbie is gone!
Georg!
Come on, already.
It's a line.
She hit this thing
right on the head.
Did something hit you?
Show me where.
Where is it now?
Speak to me.
Leave me alone.
She's having a fit.
Fit yourself.
*70's American TV series
type music*
And we hear it again for the 1OOth time:
"If it hadn't been for our boy.."
Turn it down!
For something like this
there are rescue certificates.
The old man can display
it in the living room.
Beside the Party Secretary.
He can hang it right next
to his Erich. (Honecker)
Someday I'll have my little war.
With this fence builder.
Someday I'll have my little war.
What are you looking at so stupidly?
Don't get attached to that boy.
I don't want to see that anymore.
Do it yourself.
(Father) Tomorrow we go to the
produce market. Everybody, early!
Some deserve to be
poor and stupid.
You don't mean that.
Others toil honestly
and still can’t prosper.
Now you mean me.
"Industrial workers of the land,
the Proletariat helps our people.”
Do you remember when
that was the slogan?
-It must have been 1956.
- 1957.
Or 1957.
It's been so long.
You were a well off locksmith then.
And what are you now?
An optimist.
A full-time optimist.
How they sometimes
act over there.
No good.
They can hardly write a
word in real German.
But they can count.
And our Georg hauled that little
Behrend out of the water.
The village already knows.
I guess it is what it is, then.
What else? Should they
pay a reward then?
-Good night.
-Night.
(Mother) You keep your distance
from that girl, huh?
(Announcement) Georg Kalisch is one of the
the best students in class 1O C.
We expect that he passed
his final exam, predicting
it will be scored as `Excellent’.
We'll take that.
Georg Kalisch, at the
risk of his own life
saved a 6th grade
student from drowning.
This is how the name “Georg Kalisch”
and his self-sacrificing deed
will forever be in the honor book of
Ho Chi Minh High School.
May his name always
set an example for us all.
Didn’t they say you got
pulled out by your tits?
Stand at attention.
What are you thinking,
Brother bull?
*Laughter*
*Shooting sounds*
Do you sometimes dream?
Why?
Just because.
Do you?
Sometimes.
Sometimes I float on clouds.
And I fall.
Through the clouds.
They are like cotton balls.
Warm and soft.
And I drop and scream.
The cries suffocate in the cotton.
Nobody can hear me.
But I'm still screaming.
*She screams high and loud.*
-Do you always dream that?
-Often.
And then I dream,
i mean before:
There are hands reaching for me.
What kind of hands?
Well, just hands.
And how do they do that?
Like so.
Do more now.
Not here.
Where else?
*Jet fighters, shots*
Are you coming, Bilab the cow?
Do you see?
Who is it?
*Motorcycle noise*
*Brakes squeak*
*Motorcycle is parked*
We congratulate you on admission
to the “Advanced Secondary School”.
You have a spot available
at our boarding school
as of August 26.
Did you hear that?
(Father) Well, then.
(Mother) Did you ever say something
about a boarding school?
(Father) I didn't say anything.
(Mother) That seems like you.
(Father) You’ll help me
tomorrow by the fence.
-Did you hear, Georg?
-Yeah, yeah!
*Welding noise*
Can't you hold on?
*Noise of moving tanks*
Advanced school, 2 years.
And then, 3 years in uniform.
After high school.
I'm not leaving because I have to.
Then why?
Is that what you want?
Hard to believe, right?
It sounds like hypocrisy.
It's a paradox.
If you're serious,
it sounds like hypocrisy.
And me?
You?
You don't exist then.
And now?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
But it's not possible. I can't do this.
And what will become of me?
I want to get away from here.
*surreal music sounds*
What is it, brother bull?
Can you make the swim across?
-I want to show you my house.
-Your house?
You'll stay very close to me?
You are beautiful.
Are you sure?
*Thunderstorms*
When are you leaving?
In 4 days.
I can leave after the 8th grade.
I can come to you in the city.
I’ll do an apprenticeship there.
That's no good. You always
tell me not to lag behind.
I can come on the
weekends. Mostly.
I will write to you.
How ?
Where at, if no one’s
allowed to know?
I won't let you go.
*lightning cracks*
Stay here.
*she shrieks and laughs*
You have circles under your eyes.
Don't let anyone see them.
Can you make it back?
Swimming, I mean.
Better we run.
We can't come here in winter.
I'll think of something.
While the house is still standing.
The government wants to tear it down.
Someone's whole life and
they want to tear it down.
”Land consolidation”,
or whatever they call it.
Do you love me?
Differently, now.
Everything is different now:
You.
Me.
I'm not afraid anymore.
About leaving, I mean.
I’ll always come back.
Nice, what you say.
Take care of our house,
when I'm not around anymore.
I'm hungry, Georg.
Georg.. Georg.
-Yes?
-Take care of your things.
*Laughter*
And now, a spring poem.
Who knows a spring poem?
No one?
That can't be true.
Barbara?
(Mocking) ♪I am the cow, Mrs. Bilab.
Moo, moo, moo.
Do you see a happiness passing by,
that will never be found again.
It's good to look into a stream.
Where everything swells and fades away.
Oh, just stare into it. Into it.
It's so easily missed,
It's yours,
and make it your favorite,
torn from the heart.
Watching all down the river,
until your tears fall.
Dreaming of oblivion,
close wounds of the heart.
The soul sees with its suffering
and will flow away itself.
It's a good thing no one knows
I'm called the cow, Mrs. Bilab.
Shut your mouth, gal.
Love is also spring.
Thank you, Barbara.
*Background saw noises*
That was “Manny”.
My favorite doll.
At least put earth over it properly.
Are you here often?
Sometimes.
When I'm sad.
And now?
Not really.
It's just that everything is so different.
And me too.
I can not leave
after the 8th grade?
To teach in the city?
To Georg, right?
We were together.
Georg and I.
He's my husband now.
You must not tell me
that, Barbara.
Then who?
No one.
I know.
You don't know anything.
Are you taking the pill?
In my time it
did not exist yet.
It would have been my 1st child
back then, do you know?
I was just 16 years old.
"Build, build."
I had it removed.
Well, it doesn't always happen.
So I'm not a grandma, yet.
No one should leave
after just the 8th grade.
There is no reason for it.
You are in the last half year
and just got too complacent.
You stayed where you are.
You never progressed.
But you should have.
At least 2 times.
I still can.
Doesn't Georg want that?
-He does want it.
-Well. You see.
Ahh.
In 2 years we will all be smarter.
What's 2 years?
*calm, melancholic music*
*Accordion and singing*
♪ There is a Hofbräuhaus in Munich.
One, two, whoopee.
♪ There are so many girls looking out.
One, two, whoopee.
(Mother) You have a guest.
It is good Markus, that our Georg
has such a friend like you,
these last 2 years.
*People keep singing drinking songs*
You fly?
Sailplane.(Gliders)
Aren’t you afraid,
all alone in the plane?
Then you will become a fighter pilot later?
I hope.
Markus, the flyer.
♪ They sing,
"Sing, my dear, sing"*
I hope there is no more war.
I hope so too.
I see no contradiction there.
*In unison singing national anthems
of both the GDR and the FRG*
(Barbara's father) Enough now.
And now the gift from Aunt Helena.
(all) Bravo.
*All approving the swimsuit*
What is she actually doing?
She goes to school.
I mean after school.
How old is she anyway?
This is her ‘Youth Consecration’ today.
(Secular Confirmation). She will be 14 soon.
And this has been going on with
you for 2 years already?
There is such a law.
It determines the age of the girls,
from when they can be loved.
Didn't you know that?
Yes.
Oh, man.
Be careful.
Both of you.
Why it has to be this girl at all.
I don't understand.
Not even as your friend.
You don't have to understand it.
How do you even do it?
Must be..So, just natural?
Without pills and all?
Certainly, the way you love each other,
there’s all the technology
that would be the end for you.
Crazy.
What are you looking at?
Are you not afraid,
she could have a child from you?
It would be my child after all.
So?
We already have it figured.
Great, but how?
How figured?
She's still a child herself.
Army: 3 years.
Studies: 5 years.
Five!
Are you not afraid that by then
only a little ninny will be left?
Good for just home, yard, and garden?
Man, you're carrying
a heavy load.
I can do it.
Yes, you can do it.
What did he say,
your aviator?
You look good.
Did he say that?
"You are an adult from today",
said the keynote speaker.
"You are included in the circle of
adults. With all the duties"
"The way you learn and
work, will be your future."
He always said "you" to us. (familiar form)
He wants something from you.
Did he also talk about love?
He did not.
Not about love.
I wish you happiness.
Me too.
Are you coming?
Barbara, come out.
Your ‘fucker’ too.
If we need to come get you,
it will be even worse.
Bring it on.
Hey. Calm down. We just
want the little one.
It's a family thing, okay?
I'm coming.
Stay where you are!
Let me go, Georg.
Please.
*mocking laughter*
We'll give you another to fuck
here. Don't get upset.
(Father) Did he force it on you,
your legs spread wide?
The son of a bitch.
(Mother) We have been
worried about you.
(Father) How long have you
been doing that?
(Mother) Have you
no respect for your body?
You didn't think about the family.
(Father) Two birds of a feather.
(Mother) When something goes rotten,
you cut it from the root.
You're still 13, girl.
It's like that.
(Father) I want to know.
*Door is opened*
Stop it, Horst.
Leave the girl alone.
You're a guest here, Helena.
That's all.
Get out of here.
Come on, Helena.
I want to know.
Beat me to death.
I'll show him, your buck.
He's already 18 years old.
And I'll finish the old one.
I'll knock a wall down on him
in front of that fence.
(Principal) The father was here.
Of Behrend. Child abuse!
He wants to file a complaint.
*Phone rings*
We already have enough
around our necks.
-765 assaults is a bit much.
-They're serious, Otto.
-This does not belong in court.
-Yes, you say that.
Did you know about this, or not?
Where are we going with our morals,
when everyone spreads their legs?
-Stop.
-Yes, I'm sorry.
Good afternoon.
Should I come in?
You know what's at risk here.
The Department wants to know from
me, the District School Board,...
I can see the girl
and ask her myself.
In your presence.
Here, now.
-She trusts me, Otto.
-Yeah, so?
I don't want any trouble in the house.
They should learn, not love.
-You will testify as a witness.
-I don't think so.
Then I'll give you a direct
order, Comrade Laube.
You have violated your reporting obligation.
It's that simple.
You know what that means.
In the case of a criminal
offense, after all.
*Class bell ringing*
The boss wants to
see my draft resolution.
Hello.
Well?
Well.
We have to react.
Make an example, once and for all.
Come in, Secretary.
Every student needs to know,
how we feel about it.
-How do we feel about it, Otto?
-I'll tell you.
I don't need you anymore.
And you don't want to say anything more?
I don't want to.
More comments?
No one at all?
Then we'll vote.
Who is in favor of us striking Georg Kalisch
from the honor book of the school?
Because of the criminal offense and so on.
Raise your hand.
What the hell is this? He was
good before, not anymore?
That doesn't bother Georg.
It's just paper. No one
reads the book anyway.
But is not good
either for paper.
(Principal) It is also
a political question.
*Students moan*
And a practical question.
After all, it was a criminal offense
according to the law.
(Dpt. of Youth Secretary)
So, who is for this?
Who is against it?
*Whispers*
You are a guest, so to speak,
without voting rights.
Unanimously, then.
And abstentions,
don't you ask?
Who?
Me.
(Secretary) So one abstention.
(Student) Everyone.
Put up the chairs.
It's my fault.
I don't think you have to apologize.
Beautiful.
New furniture?
Uh huh.
You haven't been here in a long time.
Sit, please.
Georg is working hard right now.
I need to see Georg.
I'll tell him when he comes.
Thank you.
Georg is coming on Friday.
*Cheering*
*The band starts with piano.*
♪ When he saw her eyes,
she saw his mouth.
♪ And they recognized each other
right down to the bottom.
♪ And love woke her up
from deep rest.
♪ Took each other.
We needed it.
♪ When she took his hands,
he grew sky-high.
♪ When he got so close to her,
did you notice it:
♪ That fear weighs so differently,
when she knew it.
♪ But in warm arms lies
a liberated country.
♪ You and he, you feel:
This never goes away.
♪ She and he, tied so tight
and yet free.
♪ As free as swans,
who go through the whole world.
*long honk*
(Radio) The station ‘Free Berlin’
with the news. Moscow:
Kremlin chief Gorbachev declared
before the USSR party leadership,
he’ll also stop at Reykjavik and that
a meeting with Reagan is possible.
-Your’s has a hat on.
-He always has his hat on.
You don't need to be ashamed.
I don't feel that.
Are you afraid?
Around you.
I'm afraid for you.
You don't have to.
What do they really want from us?
Do you know that?
Help.
They want to help us.
Believe me.
It's also about us.
Children of men.
How we treat each other.
And what we are really worth
as a community of people.
Whether we fertilize with shit
or with chemistry:
That's what we're talking about
for hours, getting dry mouth.
But this here?
I still don't understand them,
the kids these days.
They rub their butts,
kissing in public ...
Then you have to look away.
They're everywhere.
What do we know of love?
And who does know?
We teach them how to learn
and what they need to think.
But we are not talking about love.
Or even about death.
Georg is 18 before the law.
Yeah, so?
The State must come
here with their laws?
Should the State
take responsibility?
The State..
That can come later.
Easier to scold.
I guess it's my right.
That's what the laws are made for.
You don't like him,
comrade Kalish.
Well, and you?
(Behrend) That was probably it.
Go ahead.
College boy!
Before I have to take notes,
from what they tell me,
consider the consequences
of your charges.
Who led her astray?
These days, such early contacts are
not quite extraordinary anymore.
Legislation however,
has drawn boundaries.
Exactly, that's what I mean.
Good.
I will respond to your charges
and follow up on all points.
It's just hard for me to believe,
that your only motive is
concern for your daughter.
I want you to know that.
Now I know.
Sit down.
You had a ‘boyfriend’
in the young man?
Did he touch you?
I also touched him.
Have you been together?
Child of man! (curse)
They slept with each other!
Is that so?
He loves me.
I won't say another word.
How long have you known Barbara?
Actually, we were always together,
as children already.
Did you have
Sexual intercourse with her?
Yes.
She denies this.
Did you realize that you’re
not allowed to go that far?
Of course I knew that.
We will stay together.
No matter what comes.
That is not the issue now
in debate! Child of man!
Charges are being brought.
You need legal counsel.
Talk to me, girl.
It all circles around
you, after all.
Around Georg.
It's about Georg.
So then you know,
that your ...
... that this Georg Kalisch
has deflowered you?
No.
No, that didn't happen.
I can make your
claim be checked.
Even forcibly.
By order of the court.
Do it then.
(Announcement) Miss Behrend
and chaperon, to OP 1, please.
(Doctor) Good afternoon.
Make yourself comfortable.
You can undress right here.
4 or 5 times.
In 2 years.
We were together 4 or 5 times.
But that was not the
most important thing.
And what was important?
We could talk together.
Just that the other
is always there.
Did he use violence?
What do you mean?
That's all right.
Yes, please?
What’s happening?
Get undressed.
(mocking) Haha,
♪She likes to do it so much.
Shut up.
-Undress, go.
-(screaming) No!
Come on, be quiet!
Tighter.
Ow!
The sow bites.
Lights out.
Let's get out of here.
Come on, man.
Shit!
(Eng) She survived!
(screaming) Oh, you ...
I don't get it.
I don't get it.
There were all students of ours.
From me too.
And the fathers,
and the mothers.
You can put that on.
Did you see who was there?
Don't tell anyone that I
was there at the house.
Please.
Others will take care of them.
It was my fault.
With Georg.
Now I'm available for everyone.
They think.
You can stay here.
Hmm?
Barbara.
I'm not killing myself.
*Chirping*
Your great-grandpa, or what?
No, that’s Thälmann and his wife.
(Communist in Weimar Germany)
Well, I see him differently.
And here it hangs with you.
"A life without hope
is like a bird without wings."
"A life without love
is like a sky without a star."
That is written below.
Also from him?
Mmm hmm.
To his wife.
Are you taking photos?
Yes, my grandma used
to take them.
So, you too?
Yes, me too.
Was it bad?
It was bad.
The trial is on the 15th.
I know.
When will you be leaving again?
Tonight.
Should I give it to you, the picture?
It belongs here.
Can you imagine us like this?
I can.
*Timer rattles*
Hey, guys, have you heard?
Georg has to go to jail
for child abuse.
Why’s it child abuse,
when both want to?
*Commotion*
But when a 6O-year-old is sleeping
with a 2O-year old, is it love?
*Agreement*
Yes, my mother says,
”But not a 12-year-old,
with a 16-year-old.”
And so it was with them.
My mother says,
“This is immoral.”
Nobody asked you to.
*Laughter*
Why immoral?
When I have to say at 14,
if I’m detained by an officer,
I also need to know,
who I can choose to love.
We have to do something for Georg,
don’t we?
*Agreement*
Citizens' initiative:
"Hands off Georg."
Are you crazy, man?
I’d be for that, but it’ll never work.
*School bells*
*loud whistle*
-Good afternoon.
-(Many)Good day.
Sit down with me.
*Over speaker: Movie dialogue
from "Apparent Duty"*
(Man)"When things don't go well,
you are ready to lose control.”
(Woman)"You have taught us that in
Socialism the sun always shines.
I'm already completely
blind from all that light."
I am on your side, Georg.
But I also have to take
it into consideration.
"Parents are responsible for
their children", you mean.
Are you afraid?
You have no idea.
Excuse me.
(Man) How can it
go on with us now?
This is how I imagined
a Courthouse. So peaceful.
You're not serious.
Yes.
You're just doing
what they tell you.
You don't excite.
Oh, yeah.
But that's what you're
here for now:
Getting excited.
(Film Woman) "Strictly speaking, we have
only the applause-clapping learned.
Waving flags and all that."
If you hurry, you can you
still make the 9 o'clock train.
(Film Man) "After all,
you’re here today."
Yes.
I could do it.
But I don't want to.
(Chanting)♪ Freedom for Georg.
Georg should be here.(Repeats)
(Joining in)♪ Freedom for Georg.
Georg should be here.(Repeats)
Join us.
Freedom for Georg!
Georg should be here!
Georg may yet
be sent to prison.
But before that, you left
Barbara holding the bag.
No way!
You said that, didn't you?
"Georg must get out of the
honor book. It's just paper."
"Who is for it: Arms up.
Unanimously accepted."
You guys are pretty shitty.
What do you mean "you"?
It was our representatives.
Then you might have
made the wrong choice!
That's not fair.
You were there too.
You were asked.
Not me!
-Speak your mind!
-Haw haw.
Oh, that would be
exhausting, I know.
Your own head is
only for hair cuts.
So what?
There must be a reason for that.
Wise question.
Of course there is a
reason for that.
Me, for example.
(boy) Lunch time.
Terrifying, isn't it?
Suddenly the students
on the barricades.
An extraordinary
event for us.
It makes us
completely speechless.
Was such a love
ever on display?.
-What you call love...
-And what do you call that?
Look at this, how they
let their heads hang.
They don't say anything anymore,
and are still so young.
-That’s the point, maybe.
-That's part of the problem.
There must be a reason that their
heads are only for hair cuts,
said one of the 10th Graders.
The boy is right!
Maybe it's because we always
spoon feed everything to them.
about how one should think.
You get used to it.
Awareness can not
be prescribed.
”A blue shirt is to be worn at court.”
We think: If everything is blue outside,
it is also the same in thoughts.
Who is "we"?
You, for example.
Self-deception, Otto.
And I'm fooling myself.
That's the tragedy.
You know better.
Where are we going with this?
Who even knows?
That's our way.
We don't even try.
We just do our
daily work.
As we're supposed to.
And that is the cause of those
like Georg and Barbara.
* Applause*
You know of the cafeteria disturbances
over Barbara Behrend and Georg Kalisch.
For a long time, Comrade Laube.
You have violated your reporting obligation.
I must have a disciplinary procedure
enforced against them.
Do that, Otto.
Then the show really starts.
(Prosecutor) When making a judgment
you have to keep coming back to:
That justice is, according to §148 StGB
mandated by the legislature,
to protect Minors from crimes
and sexual abuse.
As to crimes,
consider Barbara Behrend.
In another proceeding, that
still needs to be explained.
And,
There is also the question
of parental responsibility.
How would you react,
if your child was sexually active?
For legal assessment, it
is not the only important reference.
There’s how serious is the relationship
between Barbara Behrend and Georg Kalisch.
Whatever the verdict may be:
It is and remains a
criminal offense before the law.
The defense has one more
question for the witness.
Yes. Please.
Do you want to
help your friend?
Barbara.
Yes.
Then, please answer me this question,
which is very important.
Regardless of whether Georg
is acquitted or not,
Would you be ready, to stay you away from him?
To never again talk to or see him?
The witness has the right
to not respond to that.
Can we interpret your silence to mean
that all your relations with Georg
Kalisch are over and finished?
(Defense attorney)
Say what you feel, Barbara.
So your hesitation means that you renounce
your relationship with Georg Kalisch?
From now on?
Is that so?
No.
No, this is not so.
*Gallery rumbles*
*Judge raps her gavel*
(Judge)
Order in the court, please.
The witness Laube, is excused.
(Empathic thoughts)
What are you thinking, brother bull?
(Georg) I love you, I love you.
(Barbara) I want to have you
near me, brother bull.
I want the warmth of your skin.
Your hands on my breasts.
As simple as that.
Your hands.
(Georg) I want to feel
your breath. Now. Here.
(Barbara) I love you, brother bull.
In the name of the people,
the following verdict is passed...
(Markus, Georg's friend, reading aloud)
"Barbara and Georg Kalisch ask you for the honor..”
I have your wedding invitation.
So it is over that way?
For your love, I think
you paid the price.
Now, you have triumphed.
And when I return from
climbing into my icy sky,
then you are the earth for me.
And your love too.
I congratulate you.
Markus, the aviator.
English subtitles
by your friend, Quester.
your friend, Quester
"Forbidden Love"
(1990 Democratic Republic of Germany)
(Prosecutor) I'm bringing charges
against Georg Kalisch. (18yo)
Upon the minor, Barbara Behrend, (13yo)
he is accused of repeated and
continous sexual abuse.
(Judge)
The Defendant will rise.
♪ I'm Mrs. Bilab, the cow
moo, moo, moo.
♪ I'm Mrs. Bilab, the cow,
so close your eyes.
Are you coming, brother bull ?
Oh, Bilab the cow .
What do you want, brother bull?
Bilab the cow, come here.
*Thunder.*
Come on.
(Children mocking) Bilab, Bilab, Bilab.
Bilab, Bilab, Bilab, Bilab .
Are you done now?
I hope you’ll be my husband.
Oh, no.
*Crickets chirp*
Hey, Georg.
Mrs. Bilab.
Are you dreaming again?
My foot.
I twisted my foot.
Come here, put your arm
around my neck, Barbara.
-Hard to do?
-You are so big.
You have to tighten your grip.
What's that about?
Well go.
Just go, brother bull.
*Guinea Fowls cackle loudly*
Lend a hand.
Bring me something.
Georg.
You have our noisemakers.
Georg, now there’s 3 there.
For those creatures
no fence is too high.
Barbara.
Georg.
*loud babble of voices*
(Music from the speaker)
♪ ..and your monkey in the trees
♪ keeps the forest kempt..
Man!
*Children screech*
Victory!
*she screeches*
Barbie, where are you?
Georg!
Georg, Barbie is gone!
Georg!
Come on, already.
It's a line.
She hit this thing
right on the head.
Did something hit you?
Show me where.
Where is it now?
Speak to me.
Leave me alone.
She's having a fit.
Fit yourself.
*70's American TV series
type music*
And we hear it again for the 1OOth time:
"If it hadn't been for our boy.."
Turn it down!
For something like this
there are rescue certificates.
The old man can display
it in the living room.
Beside the Party Secretary.
He can hang it right next
to his Erich. (Honecker)
Someday I'll have my little war.
With this fence builder.
Someday I'll have my little war.
What are you looking at so stupidly?
Don't get attached to that boy.
I don't want to see that anymore.
Do it yourself.
(Father) Tomorrow we go to the
produce market. Everybody, early!
Some deserve to be
poor and stupid.
You don't mean that.
Others toil honestly
and still can’t prosper.
Now you mean me.
"Industrial workers of the land,
the Proletariat helps our people.”
Do you remember when
that was the slogan?
-It must have been 1956.
- 1957.
Or 1957.
It's been so long.
You were a well off locksmith then.
And what are you now?
An optimist.
A full-time optimist.
How they sometimes
act over there.
No good.
They can hardly write a
word in real German.
But they can count.
And our Georg hauled that little
Behrend out of the water.
The village already knows.
I guess it is what it is, then.
What else? Should they
pay a reward then?
-Good night.
-Night.
(Mother) You keep your distance
from that girl, huh?
(Announcement) Georg Kalisch is one of the
the best students in class 1O C.
We expect that he passed
his final exam, predicting
it will be scored as `Excellent’.
We'll take that.
Georg Kalisch, at the
risk of his own life
saved a 6th grade
student from drowning.
This is how the name “Georg Kalisch”
and his self-sacrificing deed
will forever be in the honor book of
Ho Chi Minh High School.
May his name always
set an example for us all.
Didn’t they say you got
pulled out by your tits?
Stand at attention.
What are you thinking,
Brother bull?
*Laughter*
*Shooting sounds*
Do you sometimes dream?
Why?
Just because.
Do you?
Sometimes.
Sometimes I float on clouds.
And I fall.
Through the clouds.
They are like cotton balls.
Warm and soft.
And I drop and scream.
The cries suffocate in the cotton.
Nobody can hear me.
But I'm still screaming.
*She screams high and loud.*
-Do you always dream that?
-Often.
And then I dream,
i mean before:
There are hands reaching for me.
What kind of hands?
Well, just hands.
And how do they do that?
Like so.
Do more now.
Not here.
Where else?
*Jet fighters, shots*
Are you coming, Bilab the cow?
Do you see?
Who is it?
*Motorcycle noise*
*Brakes squeak*
*Motorcycle is parked*
We congratulate you on admission
to the “Advanced Secondary School”.
You have a spot available
at our boarding school
as of August 26.
Did you hear that?
(Father) Well, then.
(Mother) Did you ever say something
about a boarding school?
(Father) I didn't say anything.
(Mother) That seems like you.
(Father) You’ll help me
tomorrow by the fence.
-Did you hear, Georg?
-Yeah, yeah!
*Welding noise*
Can't you hold on?
*Noise of moving tanks*
Advanced school, 2 years.
And then, 3 years in uniform.
After high school.
I'm not leaving because I have to.
Then why?
Is that what you want?
Hard to believe, right?
It sounds like hypocrisy.
It's a paradox.
If you're serious,
it sounds like hypocrisy.
And me?
You?
You don't exist then.
And now?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
But it's not possible. I can't do this.
And what will become of me?
I want to get away from here.
*surreal music sounds*
What is it, brother bull?
Can you make the swim across?
-I want to show you my house.
-Your house?
You'll stay very close to me?
You are beautiful.
Are you sure?
*Thunderstorms*
When are you leaving?
In 4 days.
I can leave after the 8th grade.
I can come to you in the city.
I’ll do an apprenticeship there.
That's no good. You always
tell me not to lag behind.
I can come on the
weekends. Mostly.
I will write to you.
How ?
Where at, if no one’s
allowed to know?
I won't let you go.
*lightning cracks*
Stay here.
*she shrieks and laughs*
You have circles under your eyes.
Don't let anyone see them.
Can you make it back?
Swimming, I mean.
Better we run.
We can't come here in winter.
I'll think of something.
While the house is still standing.
The government wants to tear it down.
Someone's whole life and
they want to tear it down.
”Land consolidation”,
or whatever they call it.
Do you love me?
Differently, now.
Everything is different now:
You.
Me.
I'm not afraid anymore.
About leaving, I mean.
I’ll always come back.
Nice, what you say.
Take care of our house,
when I'm not around anymore.
I'm hungry, Georg.
Georg.. Georg.
-Yes?
-Take care of your things.
*Laughter*
And now, a spring poem.
Who knows a spring poem?
No one?
That can't be true.
Barbara?
(Mocking) ♪I am the cow, Mrs. Bilab.
Moo, moo, moo.
Do you see a happiness passing by,
that will never be found again.
It's good to look into a stream.
Where everything swells and fades away.
Oh, just stare into it. Into it.
It's so easily missed,
It's yours,
and make it your favorite,
torn from the heart.
Watching all down the river,
until your tears fall.
Dreaming of oblivion,
close wounds of the heart.
The soul sees with its suffering
and will flow away itself.
It's a good thing no one knows
I'm called the cow, Mrs. Bilab.
Shut your mouth, gal.
Love is also spring.
Thank you, Barbara.
*Background saw noises*
That was “Manny”.
My favorite doll.
At least put earth over it properly.
Are you here often?
Sometimes.
When I'm sad.
And now?
Not really.
It's just that everything is so different.
And me too.
I can not leave
after the 8th grade?
To teach in the city?
To Georg, right?
We were together.
Georg and I.
He's my husband now.
You must not tell me
that, Barbara.
Then who?
No one.
I know.
You don't know anything.
Are you taking the pill?
In my time it
did not exist yet.
It would have been my 1st child
back then, do you know?
I was just 16 years old.
"Build, build."
I had it removed.
Well, it doesn't always happen.
So I'm not a grandma, yet.
No one should leave
after just the 8th grade.
There is no reason for it.
You are in the last half year
and just got too complacent.
You stayed where you are.
You never progressed.
But you should have.
At least 2 times.
I still can.
Doesn't Georg want that?
-He does want it.
-Well. You see.
Ahh.
In 2 years we will all be smarter.
What's 2 years?
*calm, melancholic music*
*Accordion and singing*
♪ There is a Hofbräuhaus in Munich.
One, two, whoopee.
♪ There are so many girls looking out.
One, two, whoopee.
(Mother) You have a guest.
It is good Markus, that our Georg
has such a friend like you,
these last 2 years.
*People keep singing drinking songs*
You fly?
Sailplane.(Gliders)
Aren’t you afraid,
all alone in the plane?
Then you will become a fighter pilot later?
I hope.
Markus, the flyer.
♪ They sing,
"Sing, my dear, sing"*
I hope there is no more war.
I hope so too.
I see no contradiction there.
*In unison singing national anthems
of both the GDR and the FRG*
(Barbara's father) Enough now.
And now the gift from Aunt Helena.
(all) Bravo.
*All approving the swimsuit*
What is she actually doing?
She goes to school.
I mean after school.
How old is she anyway?
This is her ‘Youth Consecration’ today.
(Secular Confirmation). She will be 14 soon.
And this has been going on with
you for 2 years already?
There is such a law.
It determines the age of the girls,
from when they can be loved.
Didn't you know that?
Yes.
Oh, man.
Be careful.
Both of you.
Why it has to be this girl at all.
I don't understand.
Not even as your friend.
You don't have to understand it.
How do you even do it?
Must be..So, just natural?
Without pills and all?
Certainly, the way you love each other,
there’s all the technology
that would be the end for you.
Crazy.
What are you looking at?
Are you not afraid,
she could have a child from you?
It would be my child after all.
So?
We already have it figured.
Great, but how?
How figured?
She's still a child herself.
Army: 3 years.
Studies: 5 years.
Five!
Are you not afraid that by then
only a little ninny will be left?
Good for just home, yard, and garden?
Man, you're carrying
a heavy load.
I can do it.
Yes, you can do it.
What did he say,
your aviator?
You look good.
Did he say that?
"You are an adult from today",
said the keynote speaker.
"You are included in the circle of
adults. With all the duties"
"The way you learn and
work, will be your future."
He always said "you" to us. (familiar form)
He wants something from you.
Did he also talk about love?
He did not.
Not about love.
I wish you happiness.
Me too.
Are you coming?
Barbara, come out.
Your ‘fucker’ too.
If we need to come get you,
it will be even worse.
Bring it on.
Hey. Calm down. We just
want the little one.
It's a family thing, okay?
I'm coming.
Stay where you are!
Let me go, Georg.
Please.
*mocking laughter*
We'll give you another to fuck
here. Don't get upset.
(Father) Did he force it on you,
your legs spread wide?
The son of a bitch.
(Mother) We have been
worried about you.
(Father) How long have you
been doing that?
(Mother) Have you
no respect for your body?
You didn't think about the family.
(Father) Two birds of a feather.
(Mother) When something goes rotten,
you cut it from the root.
You're still 13, girl.
It's like that.
(Father) I want to know.
*Door is opened*
Stop it, Horst.
Leave the girl alone.
You're a guest here, Helena.
That's all.
Get out of here.
Come on, Helena.
I want to know.
Beat me to death.
I'll show him, your buck.
He's already 18 years old.
And I'll finish the old one.
I'll knock a wall down on him
in front of that fence.
(Principal) The father was here.
Of Behrend. Child abuse!
He wants to file a complaint.
*Phone rings*
We already have enough
around our necks.
-765 assaults is a bit much.
-They're serious, Otto.
-This does not belong in court.
-Yes, you say that.
Did you know about this, or not?
Where are we going with our morals,
when everyone spreads their legs?
-Stop.
-Yes, I'm sorry.
Good afternoon.
Should I come in?
You know what's at risk here.
The Department wants to know from
me, the District School Board,...
I can see the girl
and ask her myself.
In your presence.
Here, now.
-She trusts me, Otto.
-Yeah, so?
I don't want any trouble in the house.
They should learn, not love.
-You will testify as a witness.
-I don't think so.
Then I'll give you a direct
order, Comrade Laube.
You have violated your reporting obligation.
It's that simple.
You know what that means.
In the case of a criminal
offense, after all.
*Class bell ringing*
The boss wants to
see my draft resolution.
Hello.
Well?
Well.
We have to react.
Make an example, once and for all.
Come in, Secretary.
Every student needs to know,
how we feel about it.
-How do we feel about it, Otto?
-I'll tell you.
I don't need you anymore.
And you don't want to say anything more?
I don't want to.
More comments?
No one at all?
Then we'll vote.
Who is in favor of us striking Georg Kalisch
from the honor book of the school?
Because of the criminal offense and so on.
Raise your hand.
What the hell is this? He was
good before, not anymore?
That doesn't bother Georg.
It's just paper. No one
reads the book anyway.
But is not good
either for paper.
(Principal) It is also
a political question.
*Students moan*
And a practical question.
After all, it was a criminal offense
according to the law.
(Dpt. of Youth Secretary)
So, who is for this?
Who is against it?
*Whispers*
You are a guest, so to speak,
without voting rights.
Unanimously, then.
And abstentions,
don't you ask?
Who?
Me.
(Secretary) So one abstention.
(Student) Everyone.
Put up the chairs.
It's my fault.
I don't think you have to apologize.
Beautiful.
New furniture?
Uh huh.
You haven't been here in a long time.
Sit, please.
Georg is working hard right now.
I need to see Georg.
I'll tell him when he comes.
Thank you.
Georg is coming on Friday.
*Cheering*
*The band starts with piano.*
♪ When he saw her eyes,
she saw his mouth.
♪ And they recognized each other
right down to the bottom.
♪ And love woke her up
from deep rest.
♪ Took each other.
We needed it.
♪ When she took his hands,
he grew sky-high.
♪ When he got so close to her,
did you notice it:
♪ That fear weighs so differently,
when she knew it.
♪ But in warm arms lies
a liberated country.
♪ You and he, you feel:
This never goes away.
♪ She and he, tied so tight
and yet free.
♪ As free as swans,
who go through the whole world.
*long honk*
(Radio) The station ‘Free Berlin’
with the news. Moscow:
Kremlin chief Gorbachev declared
before the USSR party leadership,
he’ll also stop at Reykjavik and that
a meeting with Reagan is possible.
-Your’s has a hat on.
-He always has his hat on.
You don't need to be ashamed.
I don't feel that.
Are you afraid?
Around you.
I'm afraid for you.
You don't have to.
What do they really want from us?
Do you know that?
Help.
They want to help us.
Believe me.
It's also about us.
Children of men.
How we treat each other.
And what we are really worth
as a community of people.
Whether we fertilize with shit
or with chemistry:
That's what we're talking about
for hours, getting dry mouth.
But this here?
I still don't understand them,
the kids these days.
They rub their butts,
kissing in public ...
Then you have to look away.
They're everywhere.
What do we know of love?
And who does know?
We teach them how to learn
and what they need to think.
But we are not talking about love.
Or even about death.
Georg is 18 before the law.
Yeah, so?
The State must come
here with their laws?
Should the State
take responsibility?
The State..
That can come later.
Easier to scold.
I guess it's my right.
That's what the laws are made for.
You don't like him,
comrade Kalish.
Well, and you?
(Behrend) That was probably it.
Go ahead.
College boy!
Before I have to take notes,
from what they tell me,
consider the consequences
of your charges.
Who led her astray?
These days, such early contacts are
not quite extraordinary anymore.
Legislation however,
has drawn boundaries.
Exactly, that's what I mean.
Good.
I will respond to your charges
and follow up on all points.
It's just hard for me to believe,
that your only motive is
concern for your daughter.
I want you to know that.
Now I know.
Sit down.
You had a ‘boyfriend’
in the young man?
Did he touch you?
I also touched him.
Have you been together?
Child of man! (curse)
They slept with each other!
Is that so?
He loves me.
I won't say another word.
How long have you known Barbara?
Actually, we were always together,
as children already.
Did you have
Sexual intercourse with her?
Yes.
She denies this.
Did you realize that you’re
not allowed to go that far?
Of course I knew that.
We will stay together.
No matter what comes.
That is not the issue now
in debate! Child of man!
Charges are being brought.
You need legal counsel.
Talk to me, girl.
It all circles around
you, after all.
Around Georg.
It's about Georg.
So then you know,
that your ...
... that this Georg Kalisch
has deflowered you?
No.
No, that didn't happen.
I can make your
claim be checked.
Even forcibly.
By order of the court.
Do it then.
(Announcement) Miss Behrend
and chaperon, to OP 1, please.
(Doctor) Good afternoon.
Make yourself comfortable.
You can undress right here.
4 or 5 times.
In 2 years.
We were together 4 or 5 times.
But that was not the
most important thing.
And what was important?
We could talk together.
Just that the other
is always there.
Did he use violence?
What do you mean?
That's all right.
Yes, please?
What’s happening?
Get undressed.
(mocking) Haha,
♪She likes to do it so much.
Shut up.
-Undress, go.
-(screaming) No!
Come on, be quiet!
Tighter.
Ow!
The sow bites.
Lights out.
Let's get out of here.
Come on, man.
Shit!
(Eng) She survived!
(screaming) Oh, you ...
I don't get it.
I don't get it.
There were all students of ours.
From me too.
And the fathers,
and the mothers.
You can put that on.
Did you see who was there?
Don't tell anyone that I
was there at the house.
Please.
Others will take care of them.
It was my fault.
With Georg.
Now I'm available for everyone.
They think.
You can stay here.
Hmm?
Barbara.
I'm not killing myself.
*Chirping*
Your great-grandpa, or what?
No, that’s Thälmann and his wife.
(Communist in Weimar Germany)
Well, I see him differently.
And here it hangs with you.
"A life without hope
is like a bird without wings."
"A life without love
is like a sky without a star."
That is written below.
Also from him?
Mmm hmm.
To his wife.
Are you taking photos?
Yes, my grandma used
to take them.
So, you too?
Yes, me too.
Was it bad?
It was bad.
The trial is on the 15th.
I know.
When will you be leaving again?
Tonight.
Should I give it to you, the picture?
It belongs here.
Can you imagine us like this?
I can.
*Timer rattles*
Hey, guys, have you heard?
Georg has to go to jail
for child abuse.
Why’s it child abuse,
when both want to?
*Commotion*
But when a 6O-year-old is sleeping
with a 2O-year old, is it love?
*Agreement*
Yes, my mother says,
”But not a 12-year-old,
with a 16-year-old.”
And so it was with them.
My mother says,
“This is immoral.”
Nobody asked you to.
*Laughter*
Why immoral?
When I have to say at 14,
if I’m detained by an officer,
I also need to know,
who I can choose to love.
We have to do something for Georg,
don’t we?
*Agreement*
Citizens' initiative:
"Hands off Georg."
Are you crazy, man?
I’d be for that, but it’ll never work.
*School bells*
*loud whistle*
-Good afternoon.
-(Many)Good day.
Sit down with me.
*Over speaker: Movie dialogue
from "Apparent Duty"*
(Man)"When things don't go well,
you are ready to lose control.”
(Woman)"You have taught us that in
Socialism the sun always shines.
I'm already completely
blind from all that light."
I am on your side, Georg.
But I also have to take
it into consideration.
"Parents are responsible for
their children", you mean.
Are you afraid?
You have no idea.
Excuse me.
(Man) How can it
go on with us now?
This is how I imagined
a Courthouse. So peaceful.
You're not serious.
Yes.
You're just doing
what they tell you.
You don't excite.
Oh, yeah.
But that's what you're
here for now:
Getting excited.
(Film Woman) "Strictly speaking, we have
only the applause-clapping learned.
Waving flags and all that."
If you hurry, you can you
still make the 9 o'clock train.
(Film Man) "After all,
you’re here today."
Yes.
I could do it.
But I don't want to.
(Chanting)♪ Freedom for Georg.
Georg should be here.(Repeats)
(Joining in)♪ Freedom for Georg.
Georg should be here.(Repeats)
Join us.
Freedom for Georg!
Georg should be here!
Georg may yet
be sent to prison.
But before that, you left
Barbara holding the bag.
No way!
You said that, didn't you?
"Georg must get out of the
honor book. It's just paper."
"Who is for it: Arms up.
Unanimously accepted."
You guys are pretty shitty.
What do you mean "you"?
It was our representatives.
Then you might have
made the wrong choice!
That's not fair.
You were there too.
You were asked.
Not me!
-Speak your mind!
-Haw haw.
Oh, that would be
exhausting, I know.
Your own head is
only for hair cuts.
So what?
There must be a reason for that.
Wise question.
Of course there is a
reason for that.
Me, for example.
(boy) Lunch time.
Terrifying, isn't it?
Suddenly the students
on the barricades.
An extraordinary
event for us.
It makes us
completely speechless.
Was such a love
ever on display?.
-What you call love...
-And what do you call that?
Look at this, how they
let their heads hang.
They don't say anything anymore,
and are still so young.
-That’s the point, maybe.
-That's part of the problem.
There must be a reason that their
heads are only for hair cuts,
said one of the 10th Graders.
The boy is right!
Maybe it's because we always
spoon feed everything to them.
about how one should think.
You get used to it.
Awareness can not
be prescribed.
”A blue shirt is to be worn at court.”
We think: If everything is blue outside,
it is also the same in thoughts.
Who is "we"?
You, for example.
Self-deception, Otto.
And I'm fooling myself.
That's the tragedy.
You know better.
Where are we going with this?
Who even knows?
That's our way.
We don't even try.
We just do our
daily work.
As we're supposed to.
And that is the cause of those
like Georg and Barbara.
* Applause*
You know of the cafeteria disturbances
over Barbara Behrend and Georg Kalisch.
For a long time, Comrade Laube.
You have violated your reporting obligation.
I must have a disciplinary procedure
enforced against them.
Do that, Otto.
Then the show really starts.
(Prosecutor) When making a judgment
you have to keep coming back to:
That justice is, according to §148 StGB
mandated by the legislature,
to protect Minors from crimes
and sexual abuse.
As to crimes,
consider Barbara Behrend.
In another proceeding, that
still needs to be explained.
And,
There is also the question
of parental responsibility.
How would you react,
if your child was sexually active?
For legal assessment, it
is not the only important reference.
There’s how serious is the relationship
between Barbara Behrend and Georg Kalisch.
Whatever the verdict may be:
It is and remains a
criminal offense before the law.
The defense has one more
question for the witness.
Yes. Please.
Do you want to
help your friend?
Barbara.
Yes.
Then, please answer me this question,
which is very important.
Regardless of whether Georg
is acquitted or not,
Would you be ready, to stay you away from him?
To never again talk to or see him?
The witness has the right
to not respond to that.
Can we interpret your silence to mean
that all your relations with Georg
Kalisch are over and finished?
(Defense attorney)
Say what you feel, Barbara.
So your hesitation means that you renounce
your relationship with Georg Kalisch?
From now on?
Is that so?
No.
No, this is not so.
*Gallery rumbles*
*Judge raps her gavel*
(Judge)
Order in the court, please.
The witness Laube, is excused.
(Empathic thoughts)
What are you thinking, brother bull?
(Georg) I love you, I love you.
(Barbara) I want to have you
near me, brother bull.
I want the warmth of your skin.
Your hands on my breasts.
As simple as that.
Your hands.
(Georg) I want to feel
your breath. Now. Here.
(Barbara) I love you, brother bull.
In the name of the people,
the following verdict is passed...
(Markus, Georg's friend, reading aloud)
"Barbara and Georg Kalisch ask you for the honor..”
I have your wedding invitation.
So it is over that way?
For your love, I think
you paid the price.
Now, you have triumphed.
And when I return from
climbing into my icy sky,
then you are the earth for me.
And your love too.
I congratulate you.
Markus, the aviator.
English subtitles
by your friend, Quester.