Rent Frieda (1947)

Political Drama (spoilers). - Frieda review by Steve

This is a serious and articulate scrutiny of the German brides who came to live in Britain after WWII. But it actually goes much deeper and examines a wider question of what aid should be extended to rebuild the defeated enemy, and whether any threat remains. It's the first of Basil Dearden's many liberal films about social politics.

A German nurse (Mai Zetterling) helps an RAF flyer (David Farrar) escape from a POW camp in the last months of the war. He brings her back to his small English town to marry, out of a sense of duty. His family is reluctantly accommodating, but there is local resentment, ranging from gossip to hostility.

Unusually for a film which ultimately proposes tolerance, the most articulate voice is unforgiving. The pilot's aunt (Flora Robson) is a Labour politician who concludes that after Belsen, German war crimes are too atrocious to endure. Eventually, she concedes that unchecked hatred could destroy herself, and by extension, the country.

It's superbly acted and photographed with an intelligent script, though the ending is conventional. The film explores its themes in great depth, and from many points of view. It doesn't rebuke those who are not able to find peace. The conclusion is that to hate is unsustainable, and everyone forgets in time. But this time, to forget is wrong too.