Video Details
West Germany; the early 1990s. A terrorist gang bursts into a bank. "Hi guys, we're the robbers," says Rita Vogt, "We're nationalizing the economy." As they flee, Rita stops to give money to a street-person. These are not your average bank robbers. After a series of complications, these anti-capitalist revolutionaries are forced to disband, but Rita decides to take refuge in East Germany under a false identity, and this former socialist activist begins to encounter some of the drab and discontented reality of a Communist state. Volker Schlondorff (The Tin Drum) directs this striking political thriller set in the later years of the Cold War.
Review
The English title for Die Stille nach dem Schuss is most frequently listed as The Legend of Rita, but sometimes appears as The Legends of Rita, plural, which more accurately distills the most interesting aspect of this film by German director Volker Schlondorff. It's not so much the "legendary" story of a 1970s German political terrorist and the strange events that befall her, but instead a look at her multiple incarnations, or "legends" -- her multiple identities necessary to disguise her from capture. The viewer watches, with a mixture of humor and sorrow, as Bibiana Beglau's Rita continually reinvents her appearance, official papers, place of residence, and place of employment, all to support the fragile security of a political movement that has long since lapsed from her list of priorities. The film captures a strong sense of life as a fugitive, as well as Rita's creeping awareness that she can never expect to experience lasting happiness, or cherish any of her acquaintances longer than a few years. Beglau gives a complex performance, melting from reactionary vigor to the kind of harmless placidity that will help her blend into the scenery -- and, she discovers, may be closer to her true character. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
