Sun Shines on the Surface

Authors: Ursula Gruber. Human interest - BR - 2002 - 45 min

The world beneath the city of Munich is a labyrinth of shafts, tiles and tunnels. Mareike steers her train from one end of the line to the other, picking people up and letting them out again. Most of them don't notice Mareike, nor do they notice her world.

Almost 700 people of different character, nationality and outlooks on life earn their money working on the Munich underground. Everyone here has tales to tell of their hopes and fears. Fun-loving Mareike, the driver, is training to be an non-medical practitioner, Stefan the controller has found the job of his dreams, Werner the track worker would secretly prefer to be a controller, Selim the cleaner used to work in IT, and underground drivers live in fear of suicide attempts along their lines.

In her debut film, Ursula Gruber shows us the microcosm of the underground rail network from a new perspective. People who we rarely even so much as acknowledge speak openly about their little-known lives under the Bavarian capital.