»Unser kurzes Leben« is a film adaptation of the GDR novel »Franziska Linkerhand«, which tells the story of the young architect Franziska, who, full of enthusiasm and inspired by the ideals of socialist architectural theory, moves to a new city where modern apartment blocks and prefabricated housing estates (it is the 1970s of the GDR), and where she attempts to put those ideals into practice through her job at an architectural office, seeking to create a city in which people can live together in a community-oriented way. However, Franziska is quickly confronted with the realities of the planned economy and the demands of the housing construction combine, and experiences various setbacks in the form of unfeasible projects, as well as on a personal level.
Despite the differing title, the film adheres very strictly to the source novel and, apart from various omissions (which are understandable given the book’s length), allows for only a few deviations. This strict adherence is particularly evident in the dialogues, which seem to have been taken straight from the novel and, despite the incorporation of regional accents, dialects and proverbs, comes across as rather unnatural, almost theatrical. (Something one quickly gets used to though, if one already sat through some Fassbinder films.) What the film unfortunately lacks, however, are the things that happen in the book between the dialogues, and through which the story’s actual vim unfolds. Reimann’s language is so powerful, urgent and evocative that it is, of course, difficult to translate it into cinematic language. Because the film relies on merely reproducing episodes from the book, it comes across – and this is always a risk with film adaptations – as just a ›lite‹ version of the book.
The film’s actual weakness, then, lies in the fact that »Unser kurzes Leben« has little to add to the original novel. Consequently, the film is perhaps a nice bonus for fans of the book, but not necessarily enriching, and for those unfamiliar with the book, it is also somewhat lacklustre, as various conflicts and issues addressed in the book are dealt with rather quickly in the film (Franziska’s struggle with her middle-class background is only briefly touched upon, as are questions regarding attitudes towards and experiences of Nazism or Western capitalism), or do not have the same impact.
The feminist themes of the book – which stem, amongst other things, from the fact that Franziska constantly falls in love with the wrong men, who are either violent and spiteful, condescending and paternalistic, or aloof and cynical – or from the way it addresses the issue of sexual abuse, are somewhat toned down in the film. The character of Franziska, with her self-confidence, quick wit and steadfastness, certainly does have the potential to work as a kind of role model, and the role of women under socialism is also shed some light upon. But it’s not put too much in focus in this adaptation.
The conflict between socialist ideals and the practical constraints of real-existing socialism, however, is made quite clear, and one does get a sense of the inner turmoil this triggers in someone like Franziska. However, the staging isn’t quite as gripping as it could be. A film like Peter Kahane’s »Die Architektin« manages to portray this far more impressively. As one of the last films produced by the DEFA, the pessimism of this film certainly functions as a dirge for GDR socialism.
All in all, however, »Unser kurzes Leben« is a decent attempt to bring parts of the book to the screen – and the actors in the film are brilliant, particularly Simone Frost as Franziska (or Dieter Knust as the ever-smiling landlord and former circus performer). And some of the footage shown in the film of GDR interiors and desert-like prefabricated building sites, as well as some beautiful shots, do make the film worth watching after all.