The Last Summer (1954)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The last summer |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1954 |
| length | 110 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Harald Braun |
| script | Harald Braun Emil Burri Georg Hurdalek |
| production |
NDF , Munich (Harald Braun) |
| music | Werner Eisbrenner |
| camera | Werner Krien |
| cut | Hilwa from Boro |
| occupation | |
| |
The Last Summer is a German feature film by Harald Braun from 1954 based on themes from the novel of the same name by Ricarda Huch from 1910.
action
Tolemainen, the president of a country in the far north of Europe, wants to relax a little in his country house in the high forest in the last few days before the new elections. In the immediate vicinity of this country house there are several huge ore mines whose workers live in a large barrack camp. Rikola, an avowed member of a group of opponents of the president, goes there and meets his sympathetic friend Gawan, who is employed as a worker in the mine. Since they consider Tolemainen to be an enemy of the people, they decide, without informing their group, to eliminate them without delay. The attack will be prepared immediately. At the bridge leading over a torrent they cut a load-bearing beam. Immediately afterwards you can see the clouds of dust from the approaching vehicles.
Before Rikola can give Gawan the agreed sign, he sees a young girl riding a bicycle towards the bridge. He quickly jumps to the edge of the bridge and tries to stop the girl by calling out loudly. Which he also succeeds, because it lasts; at the same time the column of cars stops on the other side of the bridge. Suddenly Gawan, who thinks he has been discovered, runs from his hiding place over the swaying bridge to escape. Immediately afterwards the bridge collapses. It is immediately clear to everyone that it is an assassination attempt and that the person who flees can only be the perpetrator. Gawan finds accommodation on a bird protection island and is looked after by his sister Anja.
But Rikola is considered a savior. When even an interrogation cannot prove complicity, the president invited him to his country house. Here he meets his wife and daughters Katja and Jessika. In Jessika he recognizes the girl from the bridge; he falls in love instantly, which she replies. Meanwhile, an unexpected change is taking place in Rikola that he did not expect. Because of the trust that is shown in him from all sides and the love for Jessika, he simply can no longer kill the president. But he can no longer be in his house as a guest. Therefore he leaves Jessika and Tolemainen, but as a different person; not as desperate as he came, but as a man full of humanity and goodness. Gawan is discovered by hunting dogs while hunting ducks on his island and is shot by the military guard.
production
Last summer was shot in the Bavaria-Film studio in Munich-Geiselgasteig. The outdoor shots were shot in Germany ( Osterseen ), Austria ( Kaprun ), “Hintersee”, “Kaltenbrunn” and Norway. Robert Herlth and Kurt Herlth created the film structures, Georg Richter and Hermann Höhn were production managers. The film had its world premiere on October 29, 1954 in the Düsseldorf Burgtheater.
criticism
The lexicon of international film describes the drama as an honest film, which, however, has dramaturgical and stylistic flaws; psychological banalities and sentimentality impaired the clarity of the statement. Karolina Zebrowski wrote in Filmreporter.de that Liselotte Pulver's efforts to attract attention in a serious character role were only moderately successful. For her role in "The Last Summer" she received the Prix Femina in 1956, but this film did not become a figurehead for her.
Awards
The FBL awarded the film the title valuable . It was recommended by the Evangelical Film Guild as “best film of the month” (November 1954).
Web links
- Last summer at the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The last summer at filmportal.de
Individual evidence
- ^ Alfred Bauer: German feature film Almanach. Volume 2: 1946-1955 , pp. 440 f.
- ↑ The last summer. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Filmreporter.de/Kino/21063