| Divided Heaven | |
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Guests in the premiere of Divided Heaven in the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. 12 July 1964. |
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| Directed by | Konrad Wolf |
| Produced by | Hans-Joachim Funk |
| Written by | Christa Wolf, Gerhard Wolf, Konrad Wolf, Willi Brückner, Kurt Barthel |
| Starring | Renate Blume |
| Music by | Hans-Dieter Hosalla |
| Cinematography | Werner Bergmann |
| Editing by | Helga Krause |
| Studio | DEFA |
| Distributed by | PROGRESS-Film Verleih |
| Release date(s) | 9 March 1964 (commercial release) |
| Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | East Germany |
| Language | German |
Divided Heaven (German: Der geteilte Himmel) is an East German drama film directed by Konrad Wolf. It was released in 1964.
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While recovering from a mental breakdown, the young Rita Seidel recalls the last two years: in which she fell in love with Manfred, a chemist who is ten years older. As Manfred became disillusioned with life in East Germany, he moved to the West. Rita followed him there and tried to convince him to return, but realized he would never do it. Rita comes to terms with the past and decides to concentrate on her work.
The film's script was adapted from Christa Wolf's novel Divided Heaven, released in 1963. Director Konrad Wolf had read the author's manuscript, before the book was published, and decided to film it. Principal photography took place in Halle from late 1963 to early 1964.[1]
Divided Heaven was viewed by 1.5 million people in the first year after its premiere.[2] In 1965, Konrad Wolf and leading actor Eberhard Esche both received the Erich Weinert Medal for their work on the film.[3]
A contemporary critic from the West German Süddeutsche Zeitung's described the film as "perhaps the best German film since the war."[4] Die Zeit's reviewer wrote "Although it was made by communists... Konrad and Christa Wolf had to break away from their belief in the party in order to make this picture... And that is why it is so convincing."[5] West German author Hans Helmut Prinzler called it "the first candid attempt to portray the national consciousnesses in East Germany."[2]
The film was removed from circulation on several occasions in the following years, when the Socialist Unity Party of Germany decreed it, depending on the political situation.[6] In one resolution to remove it, in 1970, a Ministry of Culture official concluded that it "unnecessarily over-stresses the theme of the flight from the Republic."[7]
In 1995, a group of historians and cinema researchers chose Divided Heaven as one of the 100 most important German film ever made.[8]
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