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Η Όπερα της Πεντάρας Die 3-Groschen-Oper 
1931, Germany
directed by G. W. Pabst
στην Ταινιοθήκη της Ελλάδας

The musical film is loosely based on Bertolt Brecht's 1928 work for the theatre. Kurt Weill's music accompanies it; actually many of the songs became big hits at the time, and they still sound familiar.
  
Brecht mocks bourgeois moral pretentions. The screenplay is not as radical and caustic as the original, but it still delivers the message.

The heads of criminal or immoral activities (i.e. beggars, prostitutes and robbers) are not morally and at times physically far from bankers and the high society;  actually the leading team of actors moves from being thieves to opening up a respectable bank, while the chief police constable has close links to the underworld.  

The underworld and the bourgeois behave with the same moral intentions, although the bourgeois do it without getting dirty themselves. They keep up the appearances and  prefer to turn a blind eye on the dirty other side of the equation i.e. the 'criminal' classes. It is notable the panic and disqust of the queen when the hordes of beggars disrupt her coronation and come face-to-face with her.  

Although it's been 80 years since the film's appearance and you might expect it to appear dated, I found it unexpectedly refreshing. It keeps your attention to the end, as you don't know what might come up next. It is cynical, funny and dramatic at the same time, a mirror of society. It's political and social messages are expressed in an engaging way and they are very relevant today, as they were in inter-war Germany.

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