Three Comrades (1938)

 Frank Borzage's "Three Comrades"

By 1938, Germany had been through so much in the decades prior - the first World War, the Weimar Republic, and the rise of Nazism. Frank Borzage's "Three Comrades," chronicled this period through the eyes of three comrades. The film follows three male friends after the first World War. Their bond is strong, and they have each other's backs through every situation. One of the friends ends up falling in love and marrying a woman. Another begins getting involved with anti-Nazi organizational groups and ends up murdered. It is not outright clear that this rising German aggressor is the Nazis, but it is very contextually clear if you're familiar with what is going on in the country. It is important to note that Borzage never really focuses on the societal aspects of the story in great detail. Borzage is more focused on the bond between the three men, as well as the romantic bond between the two lovers. As with every Borzage film, the things happening outside of the central relationship are not really the point of the story. The point of the story is the relationship itself. In "Three Comrades," this relationship extends to the plutonic - with the three men. In all of Borzage's stories, the outside hardships of life berate and beat down the characters. The only source of salvation that can be found is through the love and friendships between the characters. Borzage focuses so much attention to these relationships that they seem to become the central point of the story, as well as life itself.