People On Sunday (EOTWS)

End Of The Week Shorts #29 extract: People On Sunday (1930)

People On Sunday is an example of one of the numerous cinematic movements that sprouted out of Germany in the 20s and 30s. This is a Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity or New Sobriety) film which was opposed to Expressionism and so was focused on a documentary aesthetic and realist storytelling. In such, this follows the lives of a handful of non-professional actors on a loosely scripted weekend with a key statement of the film being that they (as the film was being shown in cinemas) would be back at work in their depicted jobs. This is then seen as a significant, pre-Nazism, depiction of German culture in a somewhat truthful manner, but is also made note of because of contributions made from to-be significant Hollywood filmmakers such as Billy Wilder and Robert Siodmak amongst others. 

So, though this lacks focus and doesn't really provide a memorable story, People On Sunday is a successful experiment in realism that seemingly captures life, formally, with a good degree of truth and beauty.