Richard Cohn-Vossen

Richard Cohn-Vossen

90 (1934-09-30)
N/A

Most Known for...

Movie Picture

Paul Dessau 1967

The film’s subtitle identifies it as a “study of the constructive discontent of a composer”. It is a portrait of the pugnacious musician Paul Dessau (1894 – 1979), who was controversial in East Germany, as a teacher. It follows the composer as he rehearses the “Bach Variations” with the Berlin state opera orchestra, as well during classes at the Polytechnic School I in Zeuthen, where he strives to teach the students a critical attitude. In an interview, Dessau bemoans the simplification of artistic media and elucidates the meaning and necessity of “hard sounds in an era that is not soft”. As we see when he works, “pleasure requires effort” … “art is never comfortable. Building socialism is not comfortable at all. That’s why I’m in favour of the uncomfortable”.
Movie Picture

The Case of H. and Eight Others 1973

Documentary about juvenile delinquency in East Germany.
Movie Picture

Monika 1975

A documentary about Monika Töpper, a young woman in Gebersdorf, Thuringia, who has cared for her two brothers and elderly father since her mother’s death in 1970. Trained as a porcelain maker instead of the nanny she once dreamed of becoming, she channels her creative spirit into her craft yet yearns for a “big” life beyond her village. Noticing her leadership, the factory’s Party secretary recruits her as an FDJ candidate; she wins a seat on the district Health and Social Welfare Commission. There, Monika champions the needs of a local nursing home, fulfilling one of the great tasks she once only imagined. Torn between duty to her family, her budding political role, and her boyfriend’s ambitions, she realizes that to pursue true fulfillment she must eventually leave Gebersdorf—yet for now remains its devoted daughter.