Abstract

This article investigates narrative strategies and forms of representation in one German biographical film: Hunger auf Leben [Hunger for Life]. This 2004 biopic dramatises the life of author Brigitte Reimann (1933-73), who wrote in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Particular attention will be paid to the question of how her diaries are transformed onto the screen. Exploration of the film's narrative structure reveals a set of tensions between the author’s diaries on the one hand, and on the other, the historical and documentary material in, for example, the author's Stasi files. By examining the film's design, the modifications it makes to its sources and the attention it pays to certain scenes, this enquiry seeks to elucidate the film's key strategies.