AllMovie

A sentimental favorite of East German cinema, The Legend of Paul and Paula is a moving and realistic portrait of a couple's struggle to find satisfaction and love in their everyday lives. Paula, a single mother, works long hours at a supermarket and is generally dissatisfied with her life. Approached by an older tire salesman, Herr Saft, she gravitates toward him but their relationship lacks the overriding passion she desires. Paula drifts into a bar one night and meets a most unlikely match, Paul, a respectable but slightly dull, married man. After they fall in love to a wonderful soundtrack of '70s German pop music, Paul must choose between his terminally annoying wife and Paula. Unable to break with his past, Paul wavers and Paula withdraws, seriously hurt. The ending is a classic example of "You don't know what you have until it's gone."