Despedida del ayer

Yesterday Girl follows a 22-year-old woman named Anita, who moves to West Germany in order to find a better life. The film begins with a trial where she is accused of stealing a coat from her coworker. Other than this being a minor petty crime, the judge also asks her superfluous questions about her Jewish heritage. The rest of the film continues to document Anita's alienation from society, as she switches jobs every so often and has difficulty finding meaningful relationships.

The film reflects the struggle of German filmmakers from that era to process the past and the intergenerational guilt. In the Oberhausen manifesto, Kluge and other filmmakers expressed their desire to break from the previous cinematic tradition and make something completely new. This can be seen in the style of the film which is quite different from the Heimatfilme of WW2: documentary-like, with quick abrupt cuts, use of a moving camera and a fair amount of montage. Kluge often lets the camera rather than the story itself highlight the coldness of society towards Anita and the restless pace of her lifestyle.

Personally, I really enjoyed the experimental camera techniques and storytelling in this film, but I found the abrupt cuts to be at times somewhat confusing to the storyline. If the avant-garde style is something you enjoyed and you also happen to be interested in architecture, I would highly recommend checking out Kluge's short film - Brutality in Stone.