The serf
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The serf |
| Original title | Hets |
| Country of production | Sweden |
| original language | Swedish , Latin |
| Publishing year | 1944 |
| length | 99 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Alf Sjöberg |
| script | Ingmar Bergman |
| production | Harald Molander |
| music | Hilding Rosenberg |
| camera | Martin Bodin |
| cut | Oscar Rosander |
| occupation | |
| |
Die Hörige is a Swedish school drama from 1944 by Alf Sjöberg based on a script by debutant Ingmar Bergman . The three central antipodes - the student Jan-Erik and the saleswoman Bertha on one side and the teacher "Caligula" on the other - are played by Alf Kjellin , Mai Zetterling and Stig Järrel .
action
At a Stockholm high school in the early 1940s. The despotic Latin teacher of a senior class has set up a regiment of terror in “his” school. The colleagues avoid him as best they can, because not only the students fear the plump man, behind whose mask of superimposed friendliness a merciless, sadistic creature slumbers who torments the L IV students with great joy. The sensitive and idealistic student Jan-Erik Widgren, who dreams of one day becoming a violin virtuoso, is particularly interested in “Caligula”, as the man is already called in a mixture of fear and disgust. Jan-Erik is already in a tense situation: There is a lack of communication at home and his great, secret love, the young cigarette seller Bertha Olsson, tells him that she is suffering from the sadisms of a man who is stalking her, who only later clears up should point out that it is "Caligula". One night, returning home Jan-Erik discovers Bertha weeping on the street, who is obviously suffering from symptoms of poisoning. Bertha, who is not averse to excessive alcohol and men, is brought home by Jan-Erik, and the following night he does not move from the edge of the bed. His concern for the still very young girl leads to a general deterioration in his academic performance, and when "Caligula" finds out that Jan-Erik seems to be interested in "his" girl, the Latin teacher finally begins to give the sensitive boy hell on earth prepare.
In addition, “Caligula” Bertha threatens to fail Jan-Erik at the next opportunity, because he instinctively notices that the saleswoman also takes a liking to the attractive student. “Caligula's” dealings with Bertha develop into emotional brutality, and one day Jan-Erik finds his love lifeless. In the next room is the hated Latin teacher. The police and medical examinations assume suicide, but for Jan-Erik it is clear that "Caligula" bears a great moral guilt for Bertha's death. Jan-Erik, who from now on appears like a "Caligulas" accuser, hits him in the face in front of the rector when he tries to wriggle out of his guilt. Jan-Erik is religious by the school and then goes to Bertha's apartment. In this little room Jan-Erik meets the rector, who also feels freed (from “Caligula”) and makes no move to reprimand Jan-Erik for attacking his hated colleague. Both have a good conversation and the headmaster offers Jan-Erik to help him get his life back on the right track. When “Caligula” suddenly appears in Bertha's apartment after the rector's departure, the tearful man asks Jan-Erik for understanding and forgiveness. He has lost his power to want to break others. Jan-Erik, however, refuses his absolution and goes outside again, into a sunny day that promises a new, better future.
Production notes
The shooting of Die Hörige , in Germany sometimes referred to as Frenzy , began with the interior shots on February 21, 1944, which were completed on March 31, 1944. The outdoor shots were filmed on ten days in the second half of May of the same year. Ingmar Bergman directed the last-mentioned recordings independently for the very first time during Alf Sjöberg's absence (but was not given an extra name). The finished film celebrated its world premiere on October 2, 1944; the German premiere only took place 23 years later, on July 29, 1967.
The film structures were created by Arne Åkermark . Screenwriter Ingmar Bergman also served as Sjöberg's assistant director.
For the almost 19-year-old Mai Zetterling, who played one of her early film roles here, Die Hörige marked her breakthrough as a film actress.
At the Cannes International Film Festival in 1946 , Die Hörige was awarded the Grand Prix as one of eleven films. In a vote among Sweden's film journalists, Die Hörige took first place in the 1944/45 season.
useful information
The Roman despot and emperor Caligula (12–41 AD), who was named after the hated Latin teacher, ruled ancient Rome with an iron hand shortly after the birth of Christ and was considered, even for the conditions prevailing in antiquity, as extremely cruel and sadistic.
Peter Ustinov was so enthusiastic about the film that he wrote a play after it, which premiered in London in 1948 as Frenzy (the English-language distribution title of Hets ).
Reviews
The film received overwhelming reviews throughout: Here is a small selection:
“ The slave clearly formulated an attack against the abuse of power and inhumanity of the strong against the weak - here in the case of a teacher-student relationship. The evil, whose wretchedness is revealed at the end of the film, shows itself in the form of a sadistic teacher whose facial features are strongly reminiscent of those of the Nazi SS chief Heinrich Himmler . As a result, Sjöberg's most courageous film of his career also became a political allegory of the Germany of that time. "
Reclam's film guide wrote about “Die Hörige”: “ Hets combines stylistic elements of Expressionism with a direct political reference: 'Caligula', the pathological teacher, appears consciously in a Himmler mask. At the same time a theme is hinted at here that Bergman later varied several times in his own productions: The protest of young people against the world of adults ... "
“A drama intensely staged with stylistic borrowings from German Expressionism and with political references (the teacher bears the traits of Heinrich Himmler). It is amazing how immediately the film still has an effect in the face of a problem that has changed significantly from today's perspective, with regard to questions of upbringing and generation conflicts. "
Bucher's encyclopedia of the film even saw the film in general as the “rebirth of a demanding Swedish film” and summed up: “This film about the problems of an adolescent with a sadistic teacher and a drunkard prostitute made a great impression with its powerful images and strong acting. "
Sadoul's "The History of Cinematic Art" called Die Hörige a "subtle, neat, psychological study".
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ingmar Bergman / Marianne Ruth (translation): Images: my life in film. London: Bloomsbury, 1994
- ↑ Reclams Filmführer, by Dieter Krusche, collaboration: Jürgen Labenski. P. 340. Stuttgart 1973.
- ↑ The serf. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed October 12, 2018 .
- ↑ Bucher's Encyclopedia of Films, Verlag CJ Bucher, Lucerne and Frankfurt / M. 1977, p. 715.
- ^ Georges Sadoul : History of Film Art, Vienna 1957, SS 715.
Web links
- The hearing in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Hets in the Swedish database