In "Abschied von gestern" (1966), a young East German woman's struggle to adjust to her new life in West Germany is told through a cinematic language that rejects conventions and challenges its audience. Based on Alexander Kluge's short story "Anita G.", this drama film marks a shift in German cinema, utilizing jarring editing styles and non-sequential narratives to convey a sense of chaos within 1960s Germany. With intentionally rigid dialogue that echoes the country's refusal to reconcile with its past, Kluge critiques the conformity and conventionality that has dominated German cinema since the war. This film won four German Film Awards and received a Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, cementing its status as an important work of New German Cinema.