User reviews

'Grüne Hochzeit' (= green marriage) is a well-made film about two youngsters. The girl gets pregnant, resulting in their early marriage.

Thereafter, the permanent shortage of money makes itself felt. With all pressures, complications & worries that comes to it.

This film's plot was set in 1988, in the last full year of Communist East Germany -- the former DDR. Built up with good German craftmanschip, and developping in a not-too-fast, convincing way.

A remarkable feature: 'Grüner Hochzeit' opens with a scene of 'Sieben Sommersprossen' -- director Herrmann Zschoche's most famous film from ten years earlier.

Zschoche characterizes GH as 'Sieben Sommersprossen' a few years later'.

Shot in 1988 and released the following year, 1989, this DEFA movie gives a final insight into conditions and life in the GDR.

The young lovers, who follow in the footsteps of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, found each other already at the beginning of the film. But their dreams and aspirations are quickly overshadowed by the realities of a ruthless bureaucracy, the stress of young parents and the lack of support from their families and friends. The difficulties young people had to find an apartment in the GDR at that time are impressively described. Otherwise, the flight of people into the private sphere is shown, political things only take place on the sidelines.

All this is told very slowly and carefully. Everything develops into a deep and sad melancholy. As hard as the characters try, everything seems to have a bad ending. But it's a lot of fun to watch the young actors doing it.