Offrande au bien-aimé

I have just left a screening of Veit Harlan's film 'Opfergang' ('The Great Sacrifice'). It was shown as part of a film class on German cinema. I've loved film since a very young age, but, shamefully, had never have even have heard of Harlan. Let alone seen any of his pictures. Purely on the basis of this work alone, I would say that his name should be up there with fellow countrymen (and woman) Murnau, Lang and Riefenstahl. One of THE greats of German, nay WORLD cinema. It seems that his remarkable talent has been somewhat eclipsed by his association with Nazi propaganda flicks, and unlike the extraordinary Riefenstahl, his reputation never managed to transcend this.

The film is astonishingly beautiful and moving in a poetically strange way. It's one of those rare films that has an atmosphere that is completely unique and totally mesmeric. An obsessive, intensely personal quality that is magical. I will not attempt to provide a plot synopsis or dally with subtext. I merely urge you to see it however you can. As it seems to be unavailable in almost any media this could prove extremely difficult. It appears that I was incredibly fortunate to see it at all, let alone in a good print on a big screen.

An amazing work of art that, like all real art, has enriched me and changed me in some way.

Before you do anything else, hunt this down and see it NOW.

Everything in the films is over the top. The atmosphere is morbid, the colours seem unreal, the people are extremely rich, work are doing the others, costumes and set are perfect. Kristina Söderbaum is perhaps not the perfect cast for one of the leading roles, but her acting is fine. All elements combined add up to an incredible, sort of surrealistic work, set in a time and in an era that never existed. In another place and in another time, it would be very easy to rate this film as masterpiece. But the directors morals are questionable as we know from his other films. It is disturbing to see this perfect world. Knowing that while the film was made at a time when millions died a horrible death. The film comes over as the sound track and moving picture gallery to the death of the Third Reich..

A truly wonderful piece of film-making. One might try to ridicule it as a Nazi propaganda vehicle, but the truth is, this film is much too good to really suffer for these accusations. Yes, there is the presence of the Nazi principle of sacrifice, and things like "Kraft durch Freude" (strength through joy) are said, but this really doesn't matter. The atmosphere, the colours, the camera-work - everything is top notch. The actors, too: Kristina Söderbaum, the wife of Harlan and a star in his every film, proves for once that she really could act. Even though she seems very plump in this film, it can be understood why she was considered one of the best European actresses of the period. Her acting here is much better than anywhere else, even though on the over-dramatic side as always. Carl Raddatz was never a handsome leading man, so God only knows why Harlan paired him with Kristina so often. He was a decent actor, though. The Estonian-born Irene von Meyendorff is a woman from another planet and perfect in the role of Octavia, plus an amazingly beautiful woman. About the plot: Albrecht and Octavia live in their vanishing, shadowy world of German nobility, in a gloomy mansion where the blinds are always drawn. To a neighbouring villa a voluptuous Swedish amazon moves, and Albrecht is blinded by her sensuous and sometimes almost vulgar appearance. Even though Äls looks like a proper stake-and-kidney-pie, she is nevertheless marked for death. Now, the question is: who should sacrifice himself/herself for who? A lot of beautiful locations, beautiful gowns and a great masked ball scene.

This is a film of incredible beauty, without doubt one of the most dramatic and moving pictures ever made. The wonderful Agfacolor-photography is astonishing, the main figures Äls, Albrecht and Octavia are played marvellous by Söderbaum, Raddatz and von Meyendorff. Director Veit Harlan once again surpasses himself!

Of the thirteen hundred or so films produced during the Third Reich a small percentage were overtly propogandist but because of the perfectly understandable revulsion towards the Nazi regime, even the films which were designed to provide escapist entertainment for German audiences have been tarred with the same brush. They might now be considered in the historical sense but their aesthetic qualities have been overlooked.

Such is the case with demonised director Veidt Harlan who will forever be associated with the notorious 'Jud Suss' whilst his intensely lyrical films in colour are destined to be appreciated by a few cinéphiles.

The release of 'Opfergang' which Harlan and Alfred Braun adapted from the novella by George Binding, was delayed by a couple of years owing to the shortage of colour film stock by which time its themes of sacrifice and death could not fail to strike a chord with audiences.

Bruno Mondi is again behind the camera and the Agfacolor is stunning although somewhat faded. It is sorely in need of restoration but that is high unlikely. The script is literate and intelligent and Hans-Otto Borgmann again provides a sumptuous score.

The three leading players in this Cocteauesque romance are all out of the top draw. The far from traditional leading man is the excellent Carl Raddatz whilst the two women in his life are played by Harlan's wife Kristina Soederbaum, an artiste of extreme sensibility who never fails to tug at the heartstrings and the aristocratic, archetypal Aryan Irene von Meyendorff who had the distinction of being number one pin-up for the German army. Each of these characters in their own way makes the 'sacrifice' of the title. Some might interpret the feelings of Octavia for Als as being somewhat Sapphic but that is down to the individual viewer.

One astute critic has suggested that the scene featuring the 'available' females wearing masks might have influenced Stanley Kubrick when making 'Eyes wide shut', Sounds plausible to me especially as Kubrick was married to Harlan's niece!

As well as 'Opfergang', two other gems by this director from the early forties are 'Die Goldene Stadt' and 'Immensee' which together with Helmut Kautner's masterpiece 'Romanze in Moll' from 1943, should be all the more appreciated and revered for having emerged from such terrible times.