THE LEGEND OF RITA
aka DIE ßSTILLE NACH DEM SCHU

Year: 2000
USA: Kino International
Cast: Bibiana Beglau, Martin Wuttke, Nadja Uhl, Harald Schrott, Alexander Beyer, Jenny Schilly, Mario Irrek, Thomas Arnold, Franca Kastein, Dietrich Korner, Alexander Hosfeld, Rudolf Donath, Monika Pietsch
Director: Volker Schlondorff
Country: Germany
Languages: German / French / English
USA: 101 mins
USA Release Date: 24 January 2001 (Limited Release - New York)

Synopsis

Set in Germany in the 1970s. The time is marked by a spirit of anarchy and rebellion. Rita Vog (Bibiana Beglau) is seduced into the terrorist movement through her sense of justice and her love for Andi (Harald Schrott). Years later, realizing the movement is falling apart, she goes underground, hiding out in East Germany.

With the help of a Stasi agent named Erwin Hull (Martin Wuttke), she assumes a new identity (or "legend" - in Stasi (East German Secret Police) jargon) amidst the everyday world of the working class. As much as she wants to fit in, her young co-worker Tatjana (Nadja Uhl) wants to get out, to escape to the west.

Nonetheless, they form a deep friendship, which is brought to an abrupt end when a report on West German television blows Rita's cover. Rita must disappear again, but this time a new name and a new city bring her luck. While on vacation, Rita meets Jochen (Alexander Beyer), a university student working as a lifeguard. He wants her to come with him to Moscow, become his wife and have children together. However it is now 1989 and the Berlin Wall has fallen. East Germany is gone. But what impact will this now have on Rita's new life?