AllMovie

A quiet tale of tragedy based on the stage play by Thomas Strittmatter, this lugubrious story of a Polish woman's ill-fated stay on a German farm at the end of World War II is not a good testimonial for human values. After the timid Anna has worked for awhile on the farm, the family accepts her into their fold, much more than Nazi regulations would allow. Before long, a pregnant Anna is found murdered, her body floating in a nearby lake. The police commissioner takes advantage of the investigation to hide out at the farm in order to escape the approaching Allied forces. After it becomes clear who the murderer must be, the farm wife is left alone with the police commissioner, and the two soon start up an intimate relationship. The saga continues -- right into a very awkward future.