This video is part of a previous streaming program and unfortunately no longer available online.

Back to the streaming start page

Family Crypt – A Love Poem to My Mother

‘Familiengruft – Ein Liebesgedicht an meine Mutter’, FRG 1982, directed by Maria Lang, 11 min, with English subtitles, rating: 12

→ Content note


Director Maria Lang creates a montage of her family’s old photographs and newly shot film footage, accompanied by a poetic, autobiographical commentary. Here, we see a family that was not untypical of the German post-war period in a small-town, bourgeois milieu: the father is a dominant figure, waited on by a patient, subservient mother. A belated attempt to break their silence fails. A braided loaf symbolizes the family’s lack of communication throughout their lives. 

Watch next

  • Vacation

    ‘Ferien’, GER 2007, directed by Thomas Arslan, 91 min, no subtitles, rating: 6

  • Ping-Pong

    ‘Pingpong’, GER 2005, directed by Matthias Luthardt, 87 min, with English subtitles, rating: 12

  • Windows on Monday

    ‘Montag kommen die Fenster’, GER 2006, directed by Ulrich Köhler, 92 min, with English subtitles, rating: 12

  • On the Same Planet

    ‘Auf demselben Planeten’, GER 2002, directed by Katrin Eissing, 85 min, with English subtitles, rating: 12

  • There’s No Such Thing as Blue Mice

    ‘Blaue Mäuse gibt es nicht’, GDR 1958, directed by Klaus Georgi, 11 min, no subtitles, rating: 0

  • The Cuckoos

    ‘Die Kuckucks’, GDR 1949, directed by Hans Deppe, 92 min, no subtitles, rating: 0

  • Little Dorrit

    ‘Klein Dorrit’, GER 1934, directed by Carl Lamač, 93 min, with English subtitles and AD/SDH, rating: 12

  • The Buddenbrooks

    ‘Die Buddenbrooks’, GER 1923, directed by Gerhard Lamprecht, 106 min, with English subtitles, rating: 0