Kuhle Wampe or Who Owns the World? (1932)

Original title

Kuhle Wampe oder: Wem gehört die Welt?

Directed by

Slatan Dudow

Genre

drama film, proletarian film

Country

Weimar Republic, Germany

Runtime

1h 14m

Rated

12

Rating

6.9 of 10 from 26 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

The film follows poor Berliners during the Weimar Republic who face unemployment and homelessness. It shows a left wing argument as strangers clash on a train over the world coffee market.

bleakpoliticalearnestgroundedsomberagitatingbriskdebate-driven

What happens

Kuhle Wampe (full title: Kuhle Wampe, oder: Wem gehört die Welt?, translated in English as Kuhle Wampe or Who Owns the World?, and released in the USA as Whither Germany? by Kinematrade Inc.) is a 1932 German feature film about unemployment, homelessness and left wing politics in the Weimar Republic produced by Prometheus Film. The film was conceived and directed by Slatan Dudow, who brought the idea to Bertolt Brecht, who wrote the screenplay in collaboration with Ernst Ottwalt. Brecht also directed the concluding scene: a political debate between strangers on a train about the world coffee market. The film music was composed by Hanns Eisler. Kuhle Wampe itself was a tent camp on the Müggelsee in Berlin. Wampe is Berlin dialect for "stomach", so the title could be rendered "Empty Stomach". The film was banned in Germany in 1932 due to the accusations that it depicted the president, the legal system, and religion in a negative light but, following protests, the ban was lifted for a recut version. The film remained unseen for many years. However, a restored print is now available and a video was released by the British Film Institute in 1999, along with a documentary video essay on the original film by Andrew Hoellering, son of the film's producer George Hoellering. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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