People on Sunday

In 1929, a young film crew surprised the German film world by making a neorealist film greatly appreciated by press and public alike - with no money, no preparation and no professional actors. The crew of the silent film was not bad; many Hollywood celebrities worked on its direction. The storyline, dreamt up in a café, is thin and concerns five young men and women who spend an unspectacular summer Sunday afternoon on the banks of the Wannsee. Except that the cheerful atmosphere, the film also masks a surprising amount of cynicism and bitterness. As if the end of the golden 20s in Berlin somehow foreshadows the rise of the Nazis. In addition, the visual style ensures that the film still looks stunning, more than 75 years later. Especially following the restoration carried out by the Nederlands Filmmuseum. Two documentaries show us that copies from various archives were used to largely reconstruct the almost lost film, that the restoration of the images was incredibly painstaking work and that the Alliage orchestra provided new music. "I saw the film recently. I wasn't impressed," says Curt Siodmak. But he is wrong.