Le Loup des steppes

I first saw this film back in 76 or 77, I think. A strange little underground art-house cinema (which is now a Burger King) in Melbourne...

It remains with me as a thing of beauty, its environments and music always evoking a wave of optimism. This is an exploration of the possibilities of the human spirit, as well as a joyous declaration of non serviam. An aesthetic revolt into surrealism, it suited the time well.

The animated sequences in particular are very impressive: as a means of dealing with the concepts of 'The Treatise on the Steppenwolf' within the film, but separate from the body of the narrative.

The film is not Hesse's novel, but a magical gesture towards the novel. As an adaptation of a complex and sophisticated novel it is a valiant effort. I will cheerfully admit that this, along with Lindsay Anderson's if... was what ultimately interested me in studying cinema.

I feel like a minority of one by saying I liked Haines' adaptation of Steppenwolf. I first ran across it in 1989 when I found it mis-filed under horror in the video store I was living above my senior year in college. I was already a fan of Hesse, I especially liked the Glass Bead Game, Steppenwolf, Demian and Siddhartha.

I loved Max von Sydow's performance as Harry Haller. I found Dominique Sandia to be a captivating Hermine.

It is definitely a weird film but that adds to its charm. This film captured the spirit of the book quite well -- better than David Lynch's adaptation of Dune. I'm speaking as a fan of David Lynch and of Dune. Some of the animated exposition looked a little awkward but I'm inclined to overlook that because some of it was funny and the live action parts worked really well.

This movie communicates only bits and pieces of what the book itself does. It doesn't show well the actual character of Haller at all and, not understanding his personality well, the rest of the film doesn't pass on the original message very well except through occasional one line sum-ups of an idea by a character. This movie includes tons of lines taken directly from the book but I found that the movie uses some of the weaker lines at times while leaving out most of the best. I found the first half of this movie to be utterly boring however the second half was moderately well done. I like the feel to the second half although I barely made it through the first. That said I give this 5 stars because of the nice surrealism (really psychedelic more than just surreal) and I found the film to be overall very poor considering the material its based. I don't particularly like some of the acting selections either. Overall if you just read this book or ever have for that matter I would say don't watch this film because it leaves me with much less feeling than the book did and really calmed down some of the feelings racing in me for days after reading the book. If you've never read the book I would say watch the film but know that the book is a masterpiece and this film is not. But like I said if your into psychedelic feels to films this has plenty to offer there. All that said I believe my review is biased because of comparing it to the book and had I never read the book some of the ideas presented in the film would have really hit home. But that's not hard to do when your script is pretty much taken directly from the book. I think being disappointed is what I feel. I also particularly dislike the scene with the war against machines where in the book the attorney or whatever he was was (I forget) wasn't treated the same as in the film. I think the last few sentences of Gustav and his conversation in the book really hit at what was being said in that section and that the film didn't.

I read Hesse's "Journey To The East" and "Siddhartha" in my early twenties and thought they were excellent, but, when I then tried to read "Steppenwolf", it defeated me after a dozen or so pages. I put it to one side for a few weeks, then tried again, with the same result. The same thing happened for a third time.

Then I saw that the movie was showing at a local art-cinema, so thought I'd go and watch it. I allowed myself to suspend judgement until the end, and found it to be an unforgettable movie. OK - it has several flaws, as other reviewers have highlighted, but it certainly made a strong impression on me. I then went home and read the book from cover to cover. It's still not my favourite Hesse book (that honour goes to Siddhartha), but it is definitely a worthwhile read, and I probably would never have finished it if I hadn't seen the movie.

Max Von Sydow is perhaps one of the finest versatile actors of all time. In any film which originate in Europe, one can expect not only finally crafted and intricate drama, but also superb acting. In this complex tale, he is convincing as Herman Hess, a soul in search of himself. Tragic in his troubled journey is the fact that like his character, Max Von Sydow will always fills the bill for classic theater as he does in this dark tale. With supporting actors like Pierre Clémenti who plays Pablo and Dominique Sanda as Hermine the film is both mysterious and deep. Expect the best from both author and actor as you follow along in a surreal life man scratching for the inner man. ***