Katanga (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Katanga |
| Original title | The Mercenaries Dark of the Sun |
| Country of production | Great Britain |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1968 |
| length | 95 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Jack Cardiff |
| script |
Adrian Spies Quentin Werty |
| production | George Englund |
| music | Jacques Loussier |
| camera |
Edward Scaife Jack Cardiff |
| cut | Ernest Walter |
| occupation | |
| |
Katanga is a 1968 British war film directed by Jack Cardiff, starring Rod Taylor and Yvette Mimieux . It is based on the novel Black Sun (original title: The Dark of the Sun ) by Wilbur Smith .
action
On his arrival in the Congo, the German mercenary Willy Krüger was given the task of bringing the diamonds stored in Fort Reprieve and the white people living there to safety from the approaching Simbas with a troop of government soldiers under his command. Together with Sergeant Ruffo, who was born in the Congo, his former Wehrmacht comrade Henlein, who was still convinced of Nazi ideology , the alcoholic doctor Dr. Wreid and 40 other soldiers set off on a specially assembled train set on the long way to the settlement.
During the journey, the group meets Claire, who had recently survived a rebel attack in a hiding place. The train finally arrives with her in Fort Reprieve. However, the diamonds are in a safe with a time lock that can only be opened in three hours. At the end of this period, Kruger can barely recover the diamonds while the enemy army under General Moses is already advancing into the settlement. The train leaves the station under mortar fire.
Hit by a grenade, the locomotive derailed after a short journey, and a car filled with civilians rolled back down the sloping track. Since the diamonds are also in this car, the mercenaries decide to undertake a daring commando operation. After dark, the rebels celebrate their victory and offend the passengers and the nuns at a nearby mission station. Under cover of night, the mercenaries return to the village, can actually take the precious diamonds after a firefight with the rebels and finally flee in the vehicles of the rebel army.
However, this trip soon ends due to lack of fuel. While Krüger makes his way to a train station with a radio, Henlein sees his chance to disappear with the diamonds and kills Ruffo. Krüger, who has come to appreciate Ruffo for his integrity and intelligence, decides to hunt down his former comrade Henlein. He defeats him in a duel and is able to kill him, but then decides to resign his command and entrust the native Corporal Kataki with the leadership, because he has violated his own moral standards with the lynching .
Historical
- Detailed information under History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The film was shot at the time of the turmoil in the Congo and thus reflects the current situation in Katanga at the time. After the hasty withdrawal of the colonial power Belgium from the Belgian Congo , the country plunged into a vortex of violence and anarchy . Despite the involvement of the United Nations , the Congo became the plaything of the two great powers of the Cold War and today suffers from the failures of the past, the consequences of decades of dictatorship and repeated battles.
Reviews
"Adventure story trimmed for tension, which does not do justice to the seriousness of the actual occurrences and depicts atrocities in an end in itself."
Remarks
In the English original, the main character is a former British captain named Bruce Curry. In the German dubbing, the character was renamed Willy Krüger and given a different background.
Henlein's character is based on that of the German mercenary Siegfried Müller . Another person who was involved as a mercenary in the real events of the Congo is z. B. "Mad" Mike Hoare .
This is a favorite of Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino , and it has a special meaning for both of them. Tarantino's influence went so far that he worked the score into his film Inglourious Basterds and Rod Taylor received a guest role.
literature
- Wilbur Smith : Black Sun (Original title: The Dark of the Sun ). German by Ulli Glass and Manfred Darmstadt . Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1980, 312 pages, ISBN 3-404-12107-4
Web links
- Katanga in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Katanga. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .