Friends Heinrich and Grischa find fulfillment acting in political theater, their current production a Greek tragedy that examines the roots of patriarchy, modern gender relations, and women's loss of agency. The two are drawn together in part by their shared desire to live lives rich with the meaning they find in theater. Heinrich projects his need for a Große Liebe onto Grischa. Grischa is leaving her current relationship and is embarked on a journey of personal discovery interviewing West German working women about their attitudes towards work, family, men, abortion. She sees Heinrich as a comrade-in-arms who will support her exploration of women's lives. Grischa sets up a household with warm, loving Heinrich. The two share strong chemistry, politics and playfulness. Soon, however, Heinrich's idealized, self-involved image of love comes into conflict with the realities which 1970s West Germany defines for Grischa and the women she interviews. While Heinrich has the privilege of remaining in his head and wholly male, intellectual political theater, Grischa suddenly finds her choices are dramatically constrained by her woman's body. As the film closes Grischa and Heinrich embody archetypal roles, in a modern tragedy no longer on the stage.
Review of Unter dem Pflaster ist der Strand
