This highly influential movie was the first of the German "Street" films. It tells the story of one night in which a middle aged man is lured away from his happy home into the thrills and dangers of the city streets. The city is an expressionistic nightmare, a dangerous and chaotic place. The unfortunate man encounters thieves, prostitutes, and other predators. But the real threat to security and order is the street itself. In one extraordinary scene the bumbling man passes an optometrist's shop on a crooked, deserted street. The moment his back is turned, an enormous neon sign, a pair of eyeglasses, blinks on. The street itself is alive and watching.
Review of The Street
