Martin Berger’s 'Menschen' serves as a harrowing socio-cinematic autopsy of the human spirit, adrift in the wreckage of a post-war landscape. Far from the escapist fantasies that often dominated early Weimar screens, this 1921 opus delves into the penumbral existence of the disenfranchised. The narrative follows a fatalistic trajectory, where the characters—portrayed with a raw, almost primitive intensity—grapple with the crushing weight of systemic indifference and personal moral decay.
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Cast
9 people
Grete Ly
Also in
Todesurteil
Eugen Klöpfer
Also in
The Burning Soil
New Year's Eve
Ilka Grüning
Known for
Phantom
Joyless Street
Alexander Ekert
Also in
Madame DuBarry
Johann Baptiste Lingg
Bernhard Goetzke
Known for
Destiny
Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler
Charles Willy Kayser
Also in
Waterloo
Die Flucht ins Jenseits oder: Die dunkle Gasse von New York
A.L. Porttier
Waldemar Pottier
Also in
The Loves of Pharaoh
Aus der Jugendzeit klingt ein Lied
Marie von Bülow
Also in
Eugen Onegin
Mazeppa, Folk Hero of the Ukraine
Martin Berger Director
First release January 1, 1920 · Produced in Germany
Production
Grete Ly-Film GmbH
Production
Germany
Produced in
Languages
Original language
German
Spoken on screen
No dialogue
Release dates
Germany · January 1, 1920
Theatrical
No release date listed for United States.
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