The Bearskin (film)

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Movie
Original title The bearskin
Country of production GDR
original language German
Publishing year 1986
length 82 minutes
Age rating FSK o. A.
Rod
Director Walter Beck
script Walter Beck
production DEFA
music Günther Fischer
camera Günter Heimann
cut Use Peters
occupation

Bearskin is a DEFA fairy tale film from 1986 directed by Walter Beck . The film, made in the DEFA studios in the GDR , is an adaptation of Grimm's fairy tale Der Bärenhäuter .

action

The war is over and the soldier Christoffel has no future prospects and no money . He doesn't know what to do and wants to shoot himself; then the devil meets him . He offers him a pact: his skirt pocket will always be full of money. But: he is not allowed to wash himself for seven years, not cut his hair or nails and has to sleep on a bearskin instead of in bed. If he fails to do one of these things, he will be forever dedicated to the devil. Christoffel, who as a soldier could not wash for weeks, sees this as a solvable task and accepts the condition.

Seemingly rid of the worries of the future, Christoffel sets off. But after a short time he gets lonely. No girl wants to dance with him at a festival because he looks dirty and unkempt and obviously smells too. In the rain he tries to rinse off the dirt - without any visible success. He is avoided everywhere. Only at the king's court is he showered with kindnesses for a while, as he - as a lousy card player - loses a lot of money to the king and court. When they can't stand his stench anymore, they try to steal his money. But since one only found empty pockets, one believed that he had spent everything and threw him out.

Finally and very desperately he looks for a place to stay in prison . There the devil - in the form of a fellow prisoner - tries to persuade him to wash and has a hot tub made up. But Christoffel doesn't bathe, instead he pays the debts of a locked goldsmith . He is grateful beyond measure and - despite all the disgust - takes him home. Katarina, the goldsmith's youngest daughter, recognizes Christoffel as a kind and friendly person who has had bad things and falls in love with him. However, Christoffel knows about his appearance and leaves it.

After seven years Christoffel is sitting by the fire in the field where he first met the devil years before. He's giving his skirt back to the devil. In addition, he remembers the devil's contract terms very well and lets him cut, hairdress and wash him personally.

In the end he returns to Katharina as a well-groomed man.

First broadcast

The bearskin was shown in GDR cinemas on January 24, 1986 . It was first broadcast on television on December 21, 1986 on West 3 in the Federal Republic and on December 29, 1989 on DFF 2 in the GDR. In 1997 the film was released on video .

Reviews

“One of the last DEFA fairy tale films by director Walter Beck, who dedicated himself to the children's and youth film genre and only staged fairy tales in the studio in order to preserve their artificiality. As a shaggy creature, “Bärenhäuter” Christoffel experiences numerous temptations to which he almost succumbs, and creates it through the power of love, trust and patience that will master the time. The reverse motif - a woman remains loyal to the man - can be found in Beck's ›The Prince Behind the Seven Seas‹ (1982). "

- Kino.de

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. The Bearskin. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed December 31, 2016 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. http://www.kino.de/film/der-baerenhaeuter-1986/