Her Third is, at least according to its promoters, a "landmark" of European cinema.  The central character is Margit, an East German woman with two children at the start of the 1970s.  It was notorious because Margit becomes romantically involved with another woman, and they are shown kissing.  However, one could hardly say this is an erotic film, and its interest lies in its depiction of women's lives.  The style of the film is dated and distinctively East European: the music and the cinematography often seem particularly heavy-handed (although other 1972 movies may also not stand up too well to the test of time).

Margit works at a chemical factory.  She has been married twice.  She lives in an ugly tower block, she watches TV, and she chats with her friends from work.  Her life seems difficult.  In a series of scenes set in the past, we see the death of her mother, her life in a nunnery, and her marriages to her first two husbands.  These all give a sense of her strength and ability to survive misfortunes.  They also give a complex understanding of life in East Germany in that era.

Her Third is one of director Egon Günther's early works, and while it is hardly gripping, it does stand up to repeated viewing.  While explicitly feminist, the film does show a division between the sexes and often the men seem pompous or exploitative, while the women are long-suffering and hard-working.  We see the options open to women and it becomes clear that the declared equality between women and men in Eastern Europe was largely a myth.  While this film will have limited appeal, it will be particularly relevant to those interested in the role of gender in the Eastern Bloc during the 1960s and 1970s.

The DVD extras include a brief interview with the writer of the film, Gunther Rucker, and a contemporaneous documentary about a woman factory worker, Sylvia, as well as a short essay about the film. 

  © 2007 Christian Perring. All rights reserved.

Christian Perring, Ph.D., is Academic Chair of the Arts & Humanities Division and Chair of the Philosophy Department at Dowling College, Long Island. He is also editor of Metapsychology Online Reviews.  His main research is on philosophical issues in medicine, psychiatry and psychology.

Categories: Movies