Half City West-Berlin

The camera moves over the city of Berlin as a fleeting eye crosses an urban landscape. None of the shots seem to have any narrative or discursive relation; everything passes by the viewer as in a dream. The repetitive soft toned music carries the viewer away, yet contrasts with a long shot of fast passed shoppers; pleading them to slow down and contemplate on their frantic behaviour. Shots of Checkpoint Charlie, remind the viewer of the socio-political divide that once ran through the hart of Berlin as a painful scar.

Style

Although the black and white filming, combined with the greyness of the winter landscape, seem to portray west-Berlin as a bleak and depressing city, the careful pacing and tranquil music reveal the deeper truth that lies beneath the obvious. Despite its isolation the city and its inhabitant managed to maintain a high standard of living and keep their spirits up while being separated from friends and family. The writing on one of the walls in the film aptly describes the truth behind this portrait of West-Berlin: “Truth reveals what anything less denies!”