FREIES LAND

The film tells of the new life begun by refugees after resettlement. The reconstruction of destroyed villages, the parcelling up of the land, and the emergence of reciprocal assistance structures among farmers – a compelling, close-up account of the changes to the rural environment, narrated with complex and experimental montage techniques. Despite the evident political intentions, the semi-documentary using nonprofessional actors is more than mere propaganda, reflecting as it does the hopes and dreams that prevailed in the immediate post-war period. A largely unknown and highly interesting document about the effects in the West Prignitz region of the land reform programme, and the second film produced by the DEFA.