The second life (1954)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | the second Life |
| Original title | Double destin |
| Country of production | France , Germany |
| original language | German , French |
| Publishing year | 1954 |
| length | 90 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Victor Vicas |
| script |
Frédéric Grendel Dieter Werner Victor Vicas |
| production |
Gilbert de Goldschmidt Stuart Schulberg |
| music | Hans-Martin Majewski |
| camera |
André Bac Ted Kornowicz |
| cut | Ira Oberberg |
| occupation | |
and Elisabeth Scherer , Otto Friebel , | |
The second life (French title Double destin ) is a Franco-German film drama with a message that unites peoples from 1954 by Victor Vicas , based on the play “ Siegfried ” by Jean Giraudoux . Michel Auclair , Barbara Rütting , Simone Simon and Bernhard Wicki can be seen in a German-French cast .
action
In contrast to the literary model by Giraudoux, in which the aftermath of the First World War determines the plot and time, this film adaptation focuses on the early post-war period after 1945 (until 1954). Jacques Frontenac, a young French painter, was wounded in the final stages of World War II and taken to a military hospital in occupied Germany, which was set up at Hohenberg Castle. Jacques had temporarily lost consciousness and with it his memory during the Allied invasion of Germany. When he comes to, Jacques thinks he is a German soldier, Corporal Siegfried One. Castle mistress Sybille von Hohenberg leaves him in his faith and tries, as best she can, to facilitate the entry into a new life for the "new German". She sees that Jacques alias Siegfried has a great talent for painting and therefore sets up a studio for him in his new home. Sybille helps him to find his way into his eponymous second life. “Siegfried” soon shows his great talent as a creative artist again.
But his new, second life soon shows terrible side effects: Jung-Siegfried has absorbed the Nazi demon of his time. He fiercely defends himself against alleged foreign and ethnic influences on German culture and shows a fanatical zeal in this matter. When a French journalist meets him one day, his new worldview suddenly collapses. The young lady, Françoise Dunoyer, not only explains his French origins, but also makes it clear to him that his name is Jacques and that he is engaged to her. First of all, Jacques / Siegfried defends himself with hands and feet against these new discoveries that are destroying his worldview. Finally, Sybille's brother Reinhard returns to the family castle from Soviet captivity, and now Jacques can no longer deny his real origin. Only slowly does he find his way back to his French identity and to Françoise's side.
production
Production notes and trivia
The second life was filmed under the working title Retour à la vérité (Return to Truth) from May 20 to July 24, 1954. The film was made in Wiesbaden (studios) as well as in Eberbach Monastery, Kiedrich am Rhein and in Paris (external shoots).
Charles Münzel and Kurt Hartmann took over production management. The film structures were designed by the duo Alfred Bütow and Ernst Schomer . Ingrid Bütow designed the costumes.
The second life was one of several Franco-German film collaborations in 1954/55. At the same time, Oase , Zwischenlandung in Paris and The Heroes Are Tired were further collaborations on film between the two countries.
publication
The second life premiered on November 12, 1954 in Stuttgart in the Universum, the Berlin premiere at Cinema-Paris took place on December 17 of the same year. In France, the film was first seen on January 19, 1955 in Paris. In the same year it was also published in Belgium, Sweden and Finland. It was first seen in Portugal in September 1956 and in Turkey in 1959. It was also published in Greece, Italy and under the title A Double Life in the United States. The international title is Double Destiny .
Reviews
Der Spiegel judged: “Victor Vicas (' Way without turning back ') staged very far above the German average. The French bride Jacques-Siegfried (Simone Simon) is superior to the German rival (Barbara Rütting) not only thanks to the script. "
The lexicon of the international film says: "The symbolist film that was created in the service of international understanding comes up with beautiful pictures and excellent actors, but its power of persuasion is only slight."
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jean-Claude Sabria: Cinéma français. Les années 50. Paris 1987, no.300
- ↑ The second life in Der Spiegel 2/1955
- ↑ The second life. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed November 1, 2019 .
Web links
- The second life in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The second life at filmportal.de