A Time to Love and a Time to Die
1958
****
Director: Douglas Sirk
Cast: John Gavin, Liselotte Pulver, Jock Mahoney, Don DeFore, Keenan Wynn, Erich Maria Remarque, Dieter Borsche, Barbara Rütting, Thayer David, Charles Régnier, Dorothea Wieck
Ernst Gräber, a disillusioned German soldier on leave from the Eastern Front, discovers his home town in ruins. While he attempts to locate his parents amidst the air raids, he falls in love with a local woman. For this romantically flavoured war drama, Douglas Sirk returns to his native Germany to tell an unusual story about the fleeting nature of life and love. This personal film was shot in Germany and the cast includes a mix of American and German actors. Based on a 1954 novel by Erich Maria Remarque, who has a small role as Gräber's former teacher.
