Des Christoffel von Grimmelshausen abenteuerlicher Simplicissimus

'Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus' by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen is the first ever German novel. Before it was published in about 1668 or -69, Germans had been able to read academic and religious works, poetry, some derivatives of medieval romances and since the beginning of the century a rapidly increasing number of weekly and daily newspapers. What they got only now was a proper novel with characters that develop and change, talk to each other etc. Etc. - things we take for granted when reading fiction. In 1975 director Fritz Umgelter used 'Simplicissimus' as the basis for this four-part miniseries. On the whole my impression is that he has managed to capture the spirit and tone of Grimmelshausen's work, including the bits that from a modern perspective appear pretty vulgar and off-putting. That there is a lot of violence - including murder, torture and rape - goes without saying. After all, the setting is the Thirty-Years War (1618-48) when such things were commonplace. The plot does in general follow the novel; I think the liberties it takes are well-justified, and the fact that it moves relatively slowly is typical of German 1970s TV productions. I liked the sets, though in this respect other films set in this period (for example the 'Wallenstein'-mini series of 1978) were doing better. What spoiled 'Simplicissmus' for me was the abysmal quality of the dialogue: No wit, no sparkle, no originality; instead a lot of stilted talk and affected laughter. In some places this reminded me of second-rate 1970s Italian comedies poorly dubbed by third-rate German actors. That's a pity because in principle Grimmelshausen offers fantastic material of which much more could have been made.

Harshness of medevil reality and tragicomic events are masterfully recreated in this historical masterpeace. This movie left a lasting impression on me. The costumes, the buildings and almost every detail has been carefully injected to put life into this period of the "30 year war" (anno 1628-1658). To describe this movie to an american audience, you might call it an "court jester" comedy. But that wouldn't do much justice. The movie covers a lot more complexity, and it's not just a tragic comedy.