Film sans titre

If you belong to those who dislike the triviality and banality of German film after World War II (like myself) then you should turn to those films who were made in a short period between 1946 and 1949. Many of them show the will not to just simply go on like nothing happened but to search for new forms of entertainment in the light of the war and the guilt of the german people. "Film ohne Titel" (Film Without a Title) is an interesting reflection about the rights to be entertained: Which stories can be told, when all stories seem to have been finished? It shows the attempts of a film crew to shoot a film. They offer several versions of one simple love story in different film form (melodrama or german expressionism) until they come out with the right form (which is this film itself). The film is entertaining and modern as well. Unfortunately questions of film form were not to be touched again until the seventies.

When Rudolf JUGERT's FILM WITHOUT TITLE celebrated its premiere in West Berlin on January 23, 1948, one seat had to remain empty. Hildegard KNEF, the film's leading actress, was already on her way to Hollywood to sign an exclusive contract with film producer David O. SELZNICK (GONE WITH THE WIND). What Hilde didn't know at that point was that the clever film mogul simply wanted to buy her away from the West German film market, which blossomed surprisingly quickly after the end of the war. With the films THE MURDERERS ARE AMONG US, BETWEEN YESTERDAY AND TOMORROW and FILM WITHOUT TITLE, Hildegard KNEF had developed into a real box office magnet in German-speaking countries. Now the ambitious young actress faced two years of twiddling her thumbs, during which she was sidelined in sunny Hollywood.

FILM WITHOUT TITLE, on the other hand, became a great success in West German cinemas (BAMBI for the most commercially successful film of 1948). And rightly so! The film is one of the most beautiful and clever post-war classics of West German film.

Somewhere on the Elbe (filmed in Dannenberg an der Elbe) a film team is thinking about what they can still tell in the cinema after the catastrophe of the Nazi era. Is there another comedy going on? Would there even be enough viewers for a serious film? Into these discussions, the local Christine (Hildegard KNEF) and the Berlin art dealer Martin (Hans SÖHNKER) explain the circumstances under which they met in Berlin and lost each other again. The story of her love and the difficulties she faced is told in flashbacks. The lovers found each other again in the countryside on the Elbe under completely different circumstances. Now it's up to the film team to decide how this love story should end...

This film does amazing things! A clever portrait of the times, a close look into the past and the tentative question of how one can carry on after such a downfall. A film like this hit the audience's pulse exactly. The film was also very successful artistically. At the Locarno Film Festival, Hildegard KNEF, who had already disappeared to Hollywood, was awarded a Leopard for Best Actress in her absence.

Irene von MEYENDORFF, Willy FRITSCH (as himself) and Margarete HAAGEN (THE GIRLS FROM IMMENHOF) can also be seen in other roles. The later ACADEMY AWARD nominee Helmut KÄUTNER (in 1957 he was nominated for THE CAPTAIN OF KÖPENICK) co-wrote the script. The Hanover-born director Rudolf JUGERT also made the very worthwhile film ROSEN IN AUTUMN (based on the novel EFFI BRIEST by Theodor FONTANE) with Ruth LEUWERIK and ACADEMY AWARD nominee Bernhard WICKI (was nominated for DIE BRÜCKE in 1960) in the main roles.

By the way, it's very funny how the film team discussing on the Elbe is already making fun of the West German film industry's upcoming homeland film craze.

Absolutely recommended!