PodBill Just what I expected

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

carrysa78 The legend of Paul and Paula is a very popular film in East Germany. By the way, its the favorite movie of Chancellor Angela Merkel.Before you watch that movie you must consider two things: the film was made in the GDR with the possibilities they had in the GDR-System and it was not possible to criticize the system in an open way. That means they always had to criticize between the lines.I don't like to reveal too much, but I like to explain what the film is about:We meet a single woman Paula which raises her child alone. She meets another bloke and becomes pregnant again, but he cheats on her as well. Paula is a 20 something and feels unhappy in her life. She is young, but it seems that nothing is going on in her life anymore. Paula watches all the happy couples around her, but she is alone. There is an older admirer (Herr Saft) which she could marry, but she does not love him. Paula makes an decision: it would be good to marry this older men in a material way and for her children. But before she agrees, she likes to paint the town red for a last time.In a disco she meets Paul, who is very successful in his job, but he is unhappy in his marriage. They fall in love with each other...but he will not leave his family because of the expectation of society etc. There are some heartbroken scenes. A wonderful love movie.It is up to you,if the film has an Happy End. Just be open and enjoy.

dk-138 If you want to get the feel of life in East Germany and of life in the 70s, this is your film. It is critical of the socialist system (national socialism ended in 1945, afterwards there was no Nazi-propaganda anywhere anymore, especially not in the East! Sorry, but another reviewer got this wrong), offers a romantic story and good acting by well-known actors. It is still cult in Berlin, where you can regularly see in the cinema. It kicked off the wave of east-German nostalgia. The film was so successful that today you can still see references to it in other films (eg. "Sonnenallee") and that the city decided to name a path along a lake "Paul und Paula Ufer" with a Paul und Paula bench to sit on. Also the soundtrack is worth listening to (especially the lyrics) and marked the beginning of the Puhdys'huge career.

Red-125 "Die Legende von Paul und Paula" (1973), co-written and directed by Heiner Carow, is a famous film in Germany. The story seems tame enough now--a young woman is dissatisfied with her life and takes active steps to improve it.Angelica Domröse plays Paula, a single mother who has a dead-end job and no social life. Winfried Glatzeder portrays Paul, who is unhappily married and is drawn to the free-spirited Paula. (Glatzeder has been called East Germany's Jean-Paul Belmondo. He didn't look much like Belmondo, and wouldn't have struck me as leading man material. However, I don't know enough about East German cinema to be aware of his competition.)I've been told that the reason for this film's popularity in East Germany was because it contained subtle criticism of the regime, as well as depicting some PG-13 sex. I know East German films were subject to strict censorship, and, as in any similar regime, directors inserted criticisms in ways that were necessarily very indirect and symbolic.The problem is that this movie only works if you can think of how you would have viewed it in East Berlin in 1973. I don't believe it's strong enough to succeed on its own merits in 2006.

ryan-oliva The Legend of Paul and Paula seems simple yet not boring. However, the film has profound ideas to tell – gender roles, social inequality and escapism. I like the film's way portraying of everyday life in East Berlin. You can almost see and feel the city. The love story between a passionate single mother and a complacent, married bureaucrat is not your typical Hollywood movie. The film also has a psychedelic and hippie feel. The soundtrack suits the film. I like the portions of the film where some elements (like the band that plays music while Paul and Paula are making love) are placed for no reason. The movie has a simple charm that captivates audiences. I guess that the film's success lies in its way of making the ordinary scenes of life extraordinary.