User:Yousufasfour/Frauennot - Frauenglück

Frauennot - Frauenglück (Women's Misery - Women's Happiness) is a health education documentary on the topic of abortion; specifically dealing with the issue of back-alley abortions and the risks involved when compared to a professional setting. The film makes use of two distinct parts; the opening half is a fictional narrative that is meant to address the social view of abortions, while the second half has more non-fictional documentary footage, and focuses on the dangers of these unprofessional abortions.

Plot
The movie follows the stories of two women, each of which needs to have an abortion for varying reasons. Due to circumstances, one is able to receive an abortion at a hospital, while the other is forced to use illicit means in order to terminate her pregnancy. The rest of the film compares the conditions and experiences of the two women.

Background
Lazar Wechsler, who was head of Praesens Film AG at the time, had originally sought to the film directed by Dziga Vertov. However he passed on the opportunity, and the new director was Eduard Tissé. He was joined by the father of Soviet montage, Sergej M. Eisenstein, as well as his assistant director, Grigorij Aleksandrov, who also ended up being the screenplay writer for the film.

However, Eisenstein left his companions to complete the film when he flew to Berlin on Septermber 19, 1929.

Censorship
The film was censored due to the nature of the content depicted within. Because of this, the original 102 minute length aired during the film's premiere was reduced in many other versions.