It begins before a day break, a prostitute takes a last look around for a prospective costumer. A man stumbles out of a pub and plays a trumpet solo... A fight suddenly begins, the first car starts up, a boat with workers crosses the Alster... my God, how feeble words are in the face of such wealth of images! A cleaning woman in a clear morning in front of a night-club or cinema... can you call her ugly? You cannot and you may not, she is a human being! This is the most beautiful film we have seen for a long time. (Deutsche Volkszeitung, 5/10/1957).