The Rabbit Is Me

The Rabbit Is Me German Das Kaninchen bin ich is an East German dramatic film directed by Kurt Maetzig. It was filmed in 1965, and based on the novel by Manfred Bieler.

The film was based on Manfred Bielers book Maria Morzeck or the Rabbit is Me. It was made in the aftermath of the VI Party Congress of the Socialist Unity Party at January 1963, during which the establishment allowed a measure of liberalization in the cultural life of East Germany. Although Bielers novel was highly critical of the court system, he and Maetzig took care to include several alibi scenes in the film that were intended to put the state in a better light and also prevent the banning of the picture. The scenes were also meant to present the judicial reforms that took place between 1961 and 1963.The short era of liberalization ended gradually when Leonid Brezhnev took power in the Soviet Union and introduced a conservative, more repressive course on cultural questions. The film, alongside eleven other cinematic works that were deemed politically damaging, was banned by the Central Committee of the SED at its XI Plenum in December 1965. It was only made legal again in 1990. The banned films were known as cellar films or rabbit films the second sobriquet having been derived from the films title. ........

Source: Wikipedia