"In jenen Tagen" or "Seven Journeys" or "In jenen Tagen Geschichten eines Autos" is a German black-and-white film from 1947, so this film will have its 70th anniversary next year. But actually, like the English title already states, it is seven films in one. The common denominator here is the car that appears in all seven short films. The entire film runs for approximately 95 minutes, at least in the version I saw, so the average short film length here is a bit under 15 minutes. This film came out two years after World War II and if you wonder what the word "Aufarbeitung" in the title of my review means, it stands for coming to terms with what happened. But this is only partially true as this film is not really about the political and military elite of Nazi Germany, but about the normal people from the population and their struggles and characters during these darkest years in German history. Many of the still prove they are good people. All in all, there were some interesting segments and some not so interesting. It probably depends on your personal taste which segments you like the most. My favorite was maybe the final segment with the young mother and the man who helps her. The writer and director here is Helmut Käutner and this is an early career effort by him. He went on to become one of the most impactful German filmmakers in the 1950s, maybe the number one. With "In jenen Tagen", he gives us already an early display of his talent. I recommend the watch.
Review of Seven Journeys
