Romeo and Juliet in the Village (1941)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Romeo and Juliet in the village |
| Country of production | Switzerland |
| original language | Schwyzerdütsch |
| Publishing year | 1941 |
| length | 103 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director |
Hans Trommer Valérien Schmidely |
| script | Hans Trommer Horst Budjuhn (anonymous) |
| production | Conrad Arthur Schlaepfer for Pro-Film, Zurich |
| music | Jack Tommer |
| camera | Ady Lumpert |
| cut | Irene Widmer , Käthe Mey |
| occupation | |
| |
Romeo and Juliet in the Village is a Swiss feature film from 1941 by Hans Trommer (artistic director) and Valérien Schmidely (technical director). The material was based on the novel of the same name from the cycle of novels The People of Seldwyla (1856) by Gottfried Keller . The title roles are played by the later married couple (since 1943) Margrit Winter and Erwin Kohlund .
action
The action takes place in rural Switzerland near the fictional place Seldwyla . Vreneli Marti and Sali Manz have been friends since early childhood and often spend their free time playing games together. With increasing age, however, this does not suit their fathers at all, old Marti and old Manz are violently crossed because they are both fighting over a field bordering their property, the owner of which has passed away. Only his illegitimate son, who is always called "the black violinist" by everyone, could have asserted a property right, but he was chased out of the area with stones by the two rabid farmers Manz and Marti. Ultimately, the fallow field is auctioned off to the public and Albert Manz can finally acquire it. Since this land also includes a corner of the earth that Marti has already (illegally) appropriated, the plot is placed under compulsory administration. A long legal battle ensues, because neither of the two old fighters wants to give in.
The former, gloomy prediction of the “black violinist” is soon to come true: the process that has lasted for years ultimately ruins the two opponents. Mrs. Marti is dying, and the two children Vreneli and Sali were separated for a long time due to the ongoing dispute. Only when they are both grown up do they see each other again. Vreneli has matured into a graceful woman who is adored by Sali, now ashamed from afar. The misfortune of the quarrel between the families has resulted in Sali's parents having to give up their farm and move to the city, where they take over a rather demolished and badly reputed inn. Only when they fish together in the river does a direct encounter between Sali and Vreneli and their two fathers, who are still spider-enemies, take place. The two old men immediately start fighting, and both offspring have great difficulty separating the brawlers. A gentle look, a fleeting touch, and Vreneli and Sali immediately sense that not only are the old feelings back, but that they have even intensified over the years.
When old Marti is not present the following day, Sali seizes the opportunity to talk to "his" Vreneli alone. In a cornfield they confess their love to each other. But they are surprised by Marti, who beats his daughter in anger because of this meeting. Sali intervenes and in turn knocks Marti down on the head with a stone blow. The injury is so severe that Marti has been out of her mind since then and Vreneli has to sell her father's farm. Sali decides: now or never, and he leaves his parents' diner with a little bit of savings in his pocket. Before they finally want to separate, because they don't see a future together, Vreneli and Sali want to spend a day together full of exuberant joy. This wonderful day ends with a dance in the “Paradiesgärtli”, an excursion restaurant for poor people. The playing violinist makes fun of organizing a mock wedding party, with Sali and Vreneli as the married couple. This game, which ends romantically in the moonlight, shows the two lovers in the morning hours that in truth they will never be able to live without each other. The rush of the river attracts them, and they get on a little hay-barge and are carried away by the current. Approaching wafts of mist also signal a fatal end. Some time later the boat is found empty.
Production notes
The cooperative for film production «Pro-Film» in Zurich was responsible for the production under the direction of Conrad Arthur Schlaepfer .
The shooting of the film Romeo and Juliet in the village began in June 1941. The majority of the film recordings were made between July 15 and September 30, 1941. The exterior recordings were made in Oberglatt, Zollikon, Zurich and on the banks of the Limmat, the interior recordings in the film studio Seebach AG, Zurich. The premiere of the film took place on November 8, 1941 in the Rex cinema in Zurich. In Germany, the film was shown for the first time on April 7, 1975 in the third program of Bavarian television.
The film structures were designed by Fritz Butz , and the sound was provided by the cameraman Charles Métain, who had emigrated from Germany ( The night is ours , Western Front 1918 ).
Despite the consistently positive reception by critics and a press campaign, this film did very poorly. After just 23 days, Romeo and Juliet had to be taken off the schedule in the village in Zurich. The Swiss federal government then refused to send the film as a national contribution to the Venice Biennale in 1942. The attempt at a new release on February 19, 1943 was unsuccessful, and the film was not even released in French-speaking Switzerland. In Austria, Romeo and Juliet appeared in the village in 1948 under the title The Black Violinist , in Germany it was not shown.
criticism
Domestic and later international criticism literally turned over to Trommer's first feature films. Here are a few examples:
"Should the film not have the success it deserves with the audience because of its simple delicacy, it will embarrass itself with it!"
"The most beautiful, most genuine of all Swiss films, the scope of which was not grasped yesterday and which is still groundbreaking for today and tomorrow."
“This film adaptation, equal to the literary cast, enchants with images of the strongest expressiveness, whose beauty, unique in Swiss film, transfigured the work with a sad poetry. The few dialogues fit in perfectly with the flow of images that Trommer accompanies with commentary. In its beauty and mood, this work is unmatched in Swiss film to this day. "
Hervé Dumont's "The History of Swiss Film" called Romeo and Juliet in the village a "legendary film in which nature and tragedy are in harmony."
In the lexicon of international film it says: "The film adaptation of Gottfried Keller's novella, which strives to be true to the original, appears fresh and unaffected in terms of type and milieu drawing."
Individual evidence
- ↑ Michael Gautier: 1941. "Romeo and Juliet in the village". Historical encyclopedia of Switzerland, accessed on June 18, 2020 .
- ^ Pro film. Romeo and Juliet in the village. Schweizer Film = Film Suisse: official organ of Switzerland, accessed on June 18, 2020 .
- ^ Hervé Dumont: The history of Swiss film. Feature films 1896–1965. Lausanne 1987. pp. 299 f.
- ↑ The history of Swiss film. Feature films 1896–1965. Lausanne 1987. p. 299
- ^ Romeo and Juliet in the village. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed December 18, 2015 .