Menschen am Sonntag

The Brief

It is a beautiful summer in 1920s Berlin. Four young people spend a Sunday together – swimming, listening to music, flirting, and eventually going their separate ways. Here, it is not the story that takes center stage, but the carefully observed details of everyday life. The film went on to inspire both the Italian neorealists and the French New Wave through its use of non-professional actors, real locations, and a distinctly documentary style. Many of the people behind the camera would later go on to successful careers in Hollywood.