A solid but depressing post war film shows an abandoned theater in Germany filled with all sorts of refugees from all over Eastern Europe, displaced and waiting to go home. Some of them have no home, their villages destroyed. Before the major story lines are introduced, the camera roams around the theater, giving us glimpses into the lives of these unfortunate people, and showing the conflicts that have arrived because of their different views on life and traditions and temperaments. People from Russia are accused of being communist without evidence, and assumptions of people from other countries are made as well. There are attempts of rape on the curly haired character played by Mai Zetterling, and she falls in love with Richard Attenborough who comes to her aid and is very gentle with her.
There's a twist power into the film where one of the results in a delay and then being removed until people are tested. Other characters have little tidbits of story with Siobhán McKenna also on the front burner. One thing becomes very clear from this gathering of many people is that the lessons of World War II were not learned, with anti-Semitism still prevalent and conflicts between people of varied allied nations indicating a hatred based on the fact that they are from different governments. It's well acted and certainly important because even if not a perfect film, it gives an indication as to the problems faced by the various victims of a world turned upside down that would take decades to fix.
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