Heute ist Freitag (1975 TV Movie) User Reviews

Am I pregnant or am I not? If I am, it is not a plague or a tragedy. And children are not.

[stefano-detoni · 7/10 · 17 October 2012]

Its a quiet TV-movie and it is set in the daily life of a grey and foggy East Germany in 1975. Common people with common families, but with a little unusual problems. In my opinion, the film is a timid attempt to say something against abortion. Timid, because the director knew very well that his work had to go through the communist censorship, and abortion was practiced by state hospitals. I think that the plot was accurately built up to convey its message without saying it clearly and openly. The censors may not have noticed it; or if they have, they could find no evident reason to reject the movie. Furthermore, I have seen some hints to faith and Jesus Christ, in a way not to be noticed, or to be exchanged for something else. The protagonist girl in a scene opens her purse, and on the reverse of its flap one can notice a small cross on the leather. Later, the two lovers go to visit a church, where there is also a speaker who tells the story of the building, like in a museum. It is like saying to censors: you cannot object, I did show that the church is now only a museum. But to other people, believers above all, this can be an allusion to the exintence of God and Christianity. From a cinematographic point of view,this movie is not a masterpiece. Let us say that it is not at all bad.One can see it with interest. Dialogues are good, the actors very good; with the expression of their faces they convey peculiar feelings and sensations. His and her parents are credible figures, with credible thoughts and behavior. The plot slows down a couple o times too much, but all in all the film flows well. There are many scenes where the young woman gets in touch with children and with friends who have already some. They are not shown as a tragedy or a plague to be avoided, and these are the lights which lead her on the path of her decision for a possible pregnancy. It is a work worth to be seen, also as a testimony of a country and an era which don't exist anymore. Apart from this, it is also a study on how a young unmarried couple cope with the wait for the outcome of a pregnancy test.