Margarethe von Trotta’s first solo feature is a story about the radicalisation of a young woman, inspired by real events. Christa’s job at a modern day-care centre is threatened by financial problems, so she robs a bank with two friends. One of the friends is immediately caught, but Christa and Werner escape with the money and seek refuge with a country priest. When Werner is killed by police bullets, Christa finds refuge in a Portuguese farming cooperative. However, information about her background soon spreads there too.
The Second Awakening of Christa Klages is a combination of crime film and socially critical reflection on right and wrong and the possibilities of the individual to make a difference. Influenced by the French New Wave, it contains themes that would emerge in von Trott’s later work: friendship and solidarity between women, and liberation from traditional roles. The motto “the personal is political” is reflected in von Trotta’s exploration of both the personal interior and the political exterior of the women. Christa meets her childhood friend Ingrid, who is lonely in her unhappy marriage. With Christa’s help, Ingrid realises that she doesn’t have to conform to norms: she can make her own choices.
Kaisu Isto