Modern times & easy road

Modern Times

Director: Charlie Chaplin, USA 1936, 83 min

Charlie gets caught up in a demonstration on the street and is promptly arrested as a supposed ringleader. When he is released from prison, he meets a streetwalker and falls in love. But she is also threatened with prison for stealing bread …
Chaplin’s ingenious tragicomedy tells the critical story of man in the wheels of modern technology. At the same time, the film is a swan song, peppered with gallows humor, to the famous Tramp character and the silent film era. The scene in which Chaplin is almost swallowed up by a gigantic machine is unforgettable.

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Easy Street

Director: Charlie Chaplin, USA 1917, 20 min

In search of a warm place to stay, the Tramp visits a Christian social mission. Inspired less by the priest’s persuasion than by the charms of the young missionary sister, the Tramp gives himself a jolt and decides to start a new life. Imbued with remorse, he even returns the previously stolen donation boxes to the priest.

Musical accompaniment: Martin Pohl (piano)