Tears of stone
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Tears of stone |
| Original title | Tár úr steini |
| Country of production |
Iceland Sweden Germany |
| original language |
German Icelandic |
| Publishing year | 1995 |
| length | 110 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Hilmar Oddsson |
| script | Hilmar Oddsson Hjálmar H. Ragnarsson Sveinbjörn I. Baldvinsson |
| production | Jóna Finnsdóttir |
| music |
Jón Leifs Hjálmar H. Ragnarsson |
| camera |
Sławomir Idziak Sigurður Sverrir Pálsson |
| cut | Kerstin Eriksdotter |
| occupation | |
| |
Tears of Stone (international English title Tears of Stone ; original title: Tár úr steini ) is an Icelandic film biography by Hilmar Oddsson . The film is dedicated to a period in the life of the Icelandic composer Jón Leifs between the 1920s and 1944, when he lived in Germany , among other places . The film premiered in Iceland on September 15, 1995.
action
The composer and conductor Jón Leifs lives in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s with his wife, the Jewish pianist Annie Riethof , and their two daughters Snót and Líf. Annie gives successful concerts, while Jón finds it difficult to succeed as a composer. Although he is valued as a conductor, he can rarely perform his own works. At the same time, the situation for his family is becoming more difficult in Germany , which is increasingly shaped by National Socialist influence. Jón has a particularly deep bond with his younger daughter Líf. On a walk through the forest, he tells her a fairy tale. One stone he always carries with him is the petrified tear of a troll boy who was not home in time for sunrise. His father found him; The troll boy's whole longing for his home, his father and his mother lies in it, and therefore whoever carries this stone would always find home.
One day Líf is missing. Apparently she was attacked and persecuted by a group of Nazis along with other Jewish children. Jón finds her hidden under a pile of chairs in the radio house .
Jón's agent Krötschl urges him to join the “Permanent Council of Composers”, which he initially rejects. Since the family's financial situation is poor, he comes back and tells Annie that he is considering joining. Annie is decidedly against it, since it is a "Nazi club". Jón joins the Permanent Council anyway and receives an impressive advance payment from Krötschl for radio recordings. Annie accuses him that the money is not for his music - but for his conscience.
Jón Leifs returns to Iceland for a while while his family stays in Bergholz-Rehbrücke near Berlin . In Iceland, he is very intolerant of the orchestra, which is supposed to practice his works, and is increasingly met with open rejection from the musicians. Back in Germany, he has to find out how the society is increasingly permeated by National Socialism. Annie is no longer allowed to perform; she and the daughters live in fear. Líf makes her father promise never to leave her again. Jón discovers the envelope with Krötschl's prepayment and realizes that the money is still there - “I would never touch this money in my life”, Annie explains when Jón confronts her. When he asks her what she was living on during his absence, she initially only says that her father helped, but Snót adds that Ernst Züchner brought "groceries and things". Züchner was introduced as an acquaintance of Annie at the beginning of the film. Excited, Jón asks whether Züchner was “a regular here” during his absence. While Jón and Annie argue, Annie's parents stop in a car in front of the house to say goodbye. You are on the run from National Socialist persecution and are trying to get to Switzerland . You urge Jón and his family to leave Germany as soon as possible.
A swastika flag and a portrait of Hitler now hang in Agent Krötschl's office. He announces “good news” to Jón: He could conduct his own works at a concert in Potsdam . Annie, who accompanies Jón to the concert, leaves him at the stage entrance and wants to enter the hall through the main entrance, but is not admitted there. Then the stage entrance is also closed. Conducting Jón initially does not notice that Annie is waiting outside for the concert to end.
While Jón tries unsuccessfully at the Swedish embassy to find a way to leave Germany with his family, Annie receives a letter informing her that her parents were murdered in the Dachau concentration camp . A little later, Züchner appears, who also wanted to bring her this message. Jón asks him, who he knows is not “without influence”, to work to ensure that they can leave Germany. Züchner asks him if he knows that Iceland has been occupied by the British and leaves him with the words “You will hear from me”. This is followed by an Icelandic radio address by Jón Leifs, in which he agitates against the British occupation of Iceland . The film shows Jón sitting under a swastika during the speech.
Jón walks again through the forest with Líf. Now it is she who tells him the fairy tale of the Icelandic troll boy who got lost and couldn't find his way. At home, Annie reproaches him for addressing the radio. Jón defends himself: he's just trying to save the family and find a way out. He sacrificed his integrity and reputation so that she could leave the country. When he asks her what she has "already sacrificed", she runs out into the night. Jón and the children follow her and they go back into the house.
From Züchner, who turns out to be a functionary in the Propaganda Ministry , Jón actually receives the papers that enable the whole family to leave the country. On the crossing to Sweden, Jón explains that he and Annie are going to get a divorce. Líf desperately accuses him of breaking his promise never to leave her. Jón wants to give her his “magical” troll stone - she throws it into the sea. The film ends with a picture of the stone underwater.
This is followed by panels of text that summarize the later life of Jón Leifs and his family, including Jón's return to Iceland, his marriage to another woman, and the death of Líf, who died on July 11, 1947 at the age of 17 while swimming in Sweden drowned.
production
The film is an Icelandic-Swedish-German co-production by the companies Tónabíó (Iceland), Idé Film Felixson (Sweden) and Peter Rommel Productions (Germany).
Jón Leifs' real home near Berlin could be used as a film location because it was still standing and available.
The images in the film have a striking yellowish tint. This is due to an artistic concept by Sławomir Idziak , the film's original cameraman. Idziak, who is known for his work with filters - especially in films by Krzysztof Kieślowski - left the project after shooting in Iceland. Sigurður Sverrir Pálsson continued the color concept for the photos in Germany.
The dialogues in the film are originally German and Icelandic: Jón speaks German with Annie and other Germans, but Icelandic with his children, just as he did during his stay in Iceland. For the film music mainly works by Jón Leifs himself were used, some of which were arranged by Hjálmar H. Ragnarsson , as well as individual pieces by Hjálmar H. Ragnarsson.
reception
Erlendur Sveinsson wrote in Morgunblaðið that with Tár úr steini there is finally an Icelandic film with convincing characters that does not leave the viewer unmoved. Finally human feelings have been created with which one can identify and which are indifferent to one. The film has set new standards for Icelandic cinema. In his review Erlendur also emphasized the importance of the film for increasing the international awareness of Jón Leifs' music.
Awards
- Göteborg International Film Festival 1996: Nordic Audience Award
- DV Culture Prize 1996 in the categories of Best Film and Best Director
- International Festival of Jewish and Israeli Film Montpellier 1996: Grand Prix
- International Film Festival Prague 1996: Prize in the category of outstanding cinematography
Web links
- Tears of Stone in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Remarks
- ^ "Permanent Council for International Cooperation between Composers", founded in 1934 on the initiative of Richard Strauss , see: Petra Garbedering: Strauss and the Permanent Council for International Cooperation between Composers . In: Richard Strauss Handbook . JB Metzler, Stuttgart 2014, ISBN 978-3-476-02344-5 , pp. 42-47 , doi : 10.1007 / 978-3-476-00510-6_5 .
- ↑ a b Bak við Tár úr steini. Documentation / making of. Sjónvarpið , 1995. In: Tears of Stone. Collector's Edition DVD.
- ↑ Erlendur Sveinsson: Stökkbreytingin . In: Morgunblaðið . No. 211 , September 17, 1995, pp. 12 ( online at timarit.is ).
- ↑ Source for the awards: Tears of Stone. Collector's Edition DVD.