The righteous von Kummerow
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The righteous von Kummerow |
| Country of production | GDR |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1982 |
| length | 91 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Wolfgang Luderer |
| script | Wolfgang Luderer Scenario: Konrad Reich Dramaturgy: Gerd Gericke |
| production | DEFA , KAG "Johannisthal" |
| music | Helmut Nier |
| camera | Hans-Jürgen Sasse |
| cut | Thea Richter |
| occupation | |
| |
Die Gerechten von Kummerow is a German DEFA feature film by Wolfgang Luderer from 1982. It is loosely based on the novel of the same name by Ehm Welk and was premiered on March 18, 1982 in Berlin's Colosseum .
action
The shepherd Krischan has lived in the small Prussian village of Kummerow for 24 years. He is popular with the children because he always tells them fantastic stories from his time as a seafarer, and popular with the villagers because he doesn't ask for money for his work. What everyone knows, but everyone also successfully suppresses, is that Krischan lives in the village without papers.
One day the wealthy Müller culvert beats his horse because it comes to a standstill in the village square and shakes its head when standing, which amuses the villagers. You bet with Düker that he will not be able to teach his horse any manners and that Düker still tries to force it. The animal-loving Krischan stands against culverts and is beaten by him. The children finally push back Düker, who kills his horse with one last brutal blow. The lawsuits soon accumulate in court: While Düker is being sued by various villagers for animal cruelty and public nuisance, Düker is suing the village for tolerating an undocumented man - Krischan. He leaves the village the next day and does not return. The children of the village, above all the intelligent Martin, poor Johannes and the stupid Hermann, swear revenge and now regularly throw potatoes at the miller's house at night.
At the trial, Düker was sentenced to four weeks in prison for cruelty to animals. The three boys are praised by the judge as "righteous", because they wanted to help not only Krischan but also the horse with their action. The judge also calls on the villagers to look for Krischan and to recognize him for his love of animals, but also for his long, voluntary work in the village. The villagers, however, remain inactive, which outrags the children. As “righteous people”, they first try to report further animal cruelties, but cannot always rely on their feelings and their actions tend to damage their environment.
One day it becomes clear that the friends should be separated. When Johannes' grandfather dies and the mother leaves the village and leaves the boy to the village, the community decides to send Johannes to another village for care and training. The intelligent Martin, in turn, is supposed to attend a school in the city for the next school year. Johannes manages to escape back to Kummerow after a short time. He is now running away with Martin to finally find Krischan. Both drift off in their boat and are finally picked up by a farmer who notifies Martin's father. Both boys will soon be back in Kummerow and now the serious side of life begins: Martin is packing his things for the city school. Together with Johannes, who has to go back to his new foster parents, he leaves Kummerow in a horse-drawn carriage. Both look back on their village one last time.
criticism
The contemporary critics wrote that the high expectations of the film had not been fulfilled: Instead of social criticism, the film relies on “the leisurely milieu, the intimate idyll. As a result, the film […] becomes non-binding, which in the details may still be lovable, but in the overall impression paints the wrong picture of a supposedly ideal world in which only the usual generation conflict can be resolved. ”Other critics also saw a flattening of the Films in relation to the novel, however, praised the fact that "wonderful landscape images were captured in splendid colors [...]".
The lexicon of international films called Die Gerechten von Kummerow a "difficult, staging conventional film adaptation of a well-read novel by Ehm Welk". For Cinema the film was a “[b] iederer continuation of the ' Heiden von Kummerow '. Conclusion: Unfortunately it is difficult to get going ”.
literature
- F.-B. Habel : The great lexicon of DEFA feature films . Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-89602-349-7 , pp. 203 .
- The righteous von Kummerow . In: Ingelore König, Dieter Wiedemann, Lothar Wolf (eds.): Between Marx and Muck. DEFA films for children . Henschel, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-89487-234-9 , pp. 292-294.
Web links
- The righteous von Kummerow in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Die Gerechten von Kummerow at filmportal.de
- The Righteous von Kummerow at the DEFA Foundation
Individual evidence
- ^ Georg Antosch in: Der Neue Weg , March 19, 1982.
- ^ RK in: Schweriner Volkszeitung , April 2, 1982.
- ↑ The Righteous von Kummerow. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed August 5, 2018 .
- ↑ The Righteous von Kummerow. In: Cinema , Hubert Burda Media , accessed on August 5, 2018.