The film was directed by Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe von Trotta, two German directors born in Berlin, Germany. Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe von Trotta got married a little while before the film was released and the two collaborated on many projects together. The two were part of the New German Cinema, a movement through which many directors produced a large number of small budget and independent movies which are now considered as being classics.
The influence of the two directors is clearly seen throughout the movie, their combined influences resulting into a classic masterpiece. Margarethe von Trotta, who was one of the first members of the New German Cinema was also a feminist and is nowadays regarded as being one of the first feminist filmmakers. Her belief about femininity influenced the way in which Katharina was portrayed in the movie and, in fact, the way in which the majority of the females in the film have been portrayed.
The action in the film takes place during the 1970s, a time when traditionalist views still influenced society as a whole. Women were not equal to men and their role in society was inferior to that of their husbands and male counterparts. This is not the case in the film because women are put on the same position as men, holding jobs in the police force and doing everything their husbands were doing. Katharina in particular is an extremely independent woman, a divorced young woman who owned an apartment, a car and who had a life of her own. Katharina was happy because she was independent and this independence also gave her strength and power.
Volker Schlöndorff's influence can be seen through the way in which West Germany and the political and social environment are portrayed. Volker Schlöndorff disliked the way in which the West German powers became paranoid during the time when the Berlin Wall separated the country and the way in which the media, backed up by the police and the politicians, had free reign to do as they want and to persecute who they wanted. Volker Schlöndorff harshly criticized these powers and describes them as being totalitarian institutions that do not care about normal people and how they are influencing their lives.
The film is nowadays considered a classic and a representative for the German people. It is a dramatic and emotional film, the result of the two directors who each brought their own person touch to the final creation. The two directors combined their ideas to create a unique piece, a film which boosted their career and which became internationally acclaimed.
