What's surprising is not that "Das Kaninchen bin ich"'s viewing was banned in East Germany, but that its production was ever permitted in the first place. The film's plot is simple: their parents dead, apolitical nineteen-year-old Maria Morzeck and her brother Dieter live with their aunt. Maria works as a waitress, hoping to go to university to become a translator or travel agent, when Dieter is accused of unspecified acts against the state and jailed for three years. By chance Maria meets Paul Deister, the married judge who sentenced Dieter; judge and Maria proceed to fall in love and carry on a happy affair. What attracts Deister and Maria is never made apparent. The characters are under-developed, but Das Kaninchen's criticism of the DDR's legal system is multi-faceted and striking. At Dieter's trial the prosecutor clears the courtroom of all unauthorized spectators, supposedly in order to serve state security. When Maria asks why only she and her aunt are expelled while the other 20 members of the public remain, she's told the others were invited, leaving the viewer to wonder how many presumed common citizens are working for the Stasi. Such chilling questions regarding machinations of the state are raised with a wry humor which lends this film a delightful charm. Paul's character throughout remains a mystery to both the viewer and Maria. He seems to be a nice enough person, but then so does his wife why is he cheating on her? Can Maria influence Paul to reduce Dieter's sentence? Paul was apparently harsh with Dieter out of genuine faith in the state apparatus, but how sincere are Paul's beliefs, how ideologically-driven are his actions really? Maria and Paul's actions and their motivations have personal and political aspects which only become clear with the film's dramatic conclusion.
Review of The Rabbit Is Me
