We're moving back in time a little bit and over the Berlin Wall to examine a piece from the Western part of Germany. Emmi (Brigitte Mira) is a widowed cleaning lady of a certain age. One night, during a downpour, she takes refuge inside a bar frequented by guest workers. As a joke, one barfly dares Ali (El Hedi Ben Salim), a much younger Moroccan, to ask the older lady to dance. This sparks a romance that leads to marriage. Although happy with each other, Emmi and Ali face criticism and social ostracization for their relationship on all sides.
Watching this film, the obvious parallel is Harold and Maude, but I couldn't help but be struck by how similar it was to Loving. I don't know if Germany (East or West) had miscegenation laws, but they don't exactly have a good track record of welcoming others who do not fit the categories of White and German.
1974 was only about a generation and a half past the second world war and Hitler's regime. The building of the wall caused a massive shortage of labor for West Germany. Labor that had to be imported, which then caused resentment and fear over the sudden influx of culturally different guest workers, many of whom stayed long past the date on their work visas. You can see the parallels now with countries arguing over refugees amid fears of terrorism and blaming the collective because of the actions of a few. Fear eats the soul. And the only way to combat fear is through knowledge.
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