Goethe Zentrum, the Indo-German cultural centre in the city is coming up with yet another movie screening for cine aficionados in the city. This time, the centre brings for the film enthusiasts a historical drama directed by Jeanine Meerapfel. The 2012 film ‘Der Deutsche Freund’ (My German Friend) presents the tale of two close friends who are living in the city of Buenos Aires in Argentina during the 1950’s, after fleeing from Germany after the war. It speaks about the deep kinship and love shared between Sulamit and Friedrich, at a time of political upheaval and historic change taking place in Germany. Though bound together by friendship, the two people find themselves burdened with the different loyal backgrounds.
Friendship blooms after Sulamit, the daughter of German-Jewish emigrants from Germany, meets Friedrich, the young German boy whose family lives opposite their home. After the war, Jews and Nazis who have fled from Europe are seen living cheek by jowl with each other. Friedrich later finds out that his own father was an SS Lieutenant Colonel in Nazi Germany. Breaking all ties with his family, Friedrich goes to Germany for studies, later taking an active part in the German protest movement of May 1968. Though Sulamit later travels to Germany in search of him after a few years, Friedrich who is now dedicated to the Cuban cause and the liberation struggles of Latin America, seems to have forgotten their bond of love. Embroiled in the German Student Movement, Friedrich’s whole life now centres on his political commitment. Leaving the country, he later joins an Argentinean Guerrilla movement. They lose contact with each other, but later reunite as Friedrich becomes a left winged militant and comes back to Argentina to fight against the military Government. The film also breezes past the fall of Peron’s Government in 1955.