Carbide and Sorrel

After the Second World War, Dresden has a great deal of rebuilding to do. Kalle used to work at a cigarette factory. To get that factory running again, carbide is needed. The only place carbide can be found is Wittenberg. Kalle goes there and then has to get back with seven heavy barrels of it. He makes the return journey by hitching and by whatever vehicle he can find. What happens to him along the way turns a punishing job into an adventure. Kalle’s inventiveness and his optimism are what carry the film. Erwin Geschonneck takes the lead in Frank Beyer’s East German film of 1963, eighty five minutes long.