In its depiction of an impoverished, divorced mother who is placed on probation by welfare authorities for child neglect, On Probation is a grim look at a seamy side of East German society--and at the subtle inroads made by any society on the lives of its “fringe” elements. Featured at the 1983 San Francisco International Film Festival, the film is superbly acted by Katrin Sass, who won the Berlin Film Festival Best Actress award for her portrayal of the protagonist, Nina. If it lapses into droning, kitchen sink drama, it does so for good reason: Nina is a kind of reverse-motion Jeanne Dielman, neglectful of light switches, incapable of making a simple sandwich for her child, perpetually out of coal for heat; a volunteer even tries to teach her to squirrel away money, but to no avail. As if to confound her own desire to keep her family together, Nina gravitates back to her former circle of drinking cronies and lovers, allowing them to interfere with her ability to care for her children and finally proving the accusations true. Credited by AFI's Tony Safford as “something of a milestone for GDR filmmaking, giving new credibility to a once disregarded socialist cinema,” On Probation allows for a variety of attitudes toward the child neglect issue, from Nina's own compassionately portrayed mixed feelings, to welfare workers frightened by their own power and teachers who should be. (JB)