The opening scene, a group of workers moving about outside a factory, reminds us of one of the most celebrated scenes in early movie history. And just like that original Lumière film from 1895, the workers are mostly women. The key difference – and this is made clear in later scenes – is that by 1917 the women working in this AEG factory in Berlin were producing hand grenades! In turbulent times, traditional gender roles become less fixed, and by the third year of the war, it was perfectly normal to find women doing ‘men’s work’, and doing it perfectly well. When survival is at stake, the equality of the sexes seems like an undeniable and obvious fact – though this interpretation may cause some debate: oh well. The most compelling movies always cause the most heated discussions.

Karl Wratschko