Restless Night (1958)

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Movie
Original title Restless night
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 1958
length 95 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Falk Harnack
script Horst Budjuhn
production Günther Stapenhorst
music Hans-Martin Majewski
camera Friedl Behn-Grund
cut Eva Kroll, Georg Jaun
occupation

Troubled Night is a cinematic war drama from 1958 . It is based on the war novel of the same name, Unruhige Nacht by Albrecht Goes . The film tells the story of the Protestant war pastor Brunner (Bernhard Wicki), who accompanies the last hours of the deserter sentenced to death , the Wehrmacht soldier Fedor Baranowski (Hansjörg Felmy). In the film, the dichotomy between the office of a pastor and a military becomes evident. The film was produced by Carlton-Film GmbH, Film Aufbau GmbH, Real-Film GmbH in Hamburg. The German premiere took place on October 30, 1958 in Berlin in the Ufa pavilion .

action

1942, German-Soviet War : The soldier Baranowski is supposed to find eggs and vodka for his unit in Proskurow for a receipt. In the last house he visited, he met the Ukrainian war widow Lyuba and her little son Stano. He falls in love with Lyuba. Days later Baranowski brings the little one shoes and Ljuba a sheepskin coat. He wants to meet with Ljuba and creates a sketch for Ljuba on the receipt pad (Wehrmacht form HVA 570) where they want to meet. He draws the positions of his unit as points of orientation. Wehrmacht soldiers find the form with the sketch during the house search in Ljuba's hut. A hearing by the company commander followed and a conviction: initially 5 years in prison, which was then reduced to 2 years probation battalion due to his award with the Iron Cross 2nd class . While the unit was traveling on the railroad, he spoke to a sergeant about the verdict and learned that a probation unit was equivalent to a death sentence . There is a halt due to an air raid , which Baranowski uses to escape. Baranowski flees to Ljuba and finds the hut empty and devastated. An old woman tells him where Lyuba is and he runs to her. Completely exhausted, he arrives at the hut in the forest and falls to the ground and is put to bed. He asks Ljuba about Stano, who is lying in bed and sleeping. A dog handler on a Wehrmacht patrol inspects the hut and deals with Stano. Baranowski uses this situation to flee. In Ljuba's village, Baranowski stands with other men facing the church. On the command “ Turn! “Baranowski turns militarily and is recognized by his superior, the paymaster , despite civilian clothes. In the court martial that followed , desertion is found and Baranowski is to be executed. A Protestant military chaplain was then ordered from a military hospital in Vinnitsa, as one cannot fall back on one's own.

" Oberfeldkommandantur Proskurow requests possible war priest. Arrival required Wednesday at 5 p.m. Report to Department IIIa . Return Thursday. "

War pastor Brunner then reports to the local commandant's office to assist the soldier Baranowski. In order to understand what the soldier did, Brunner obtained the files from Dr. Greitner, who informs him that the mercy petition by the commander of the Army Group Ukraine was rejected: Baranowski should at dawn at 5:45 am firing squad are. Brunner went to the Wehrmachtsheim, a small restaurant in the village, to move into his quarters , then he went to the Wehrmacht prison in Proskurow to get to know the soldier Baranowski inconspicuously. To this end, Sergeant Mascha suggests that he hold a small evening service. In front of the prison, Brunner is received by his official brother Lieutenant Ernst. Ernst is the leader of the firing squad and has moral concerns about the execution of his order. He sees Major Kartuschke's order as a harassment against his priesthood. When the two Major Kartuschke meet in front of the casino, it comes to an extreme: Ernst draws the pistol, but does not have the courage to shoot Kartuschke. He deviates from his plan and lets Kartuschke go. This situation symbolizes the problem of German military resistance : between conscience and obedience, for fear of the consequences one spares the tyrants. Arriving in the quarters, Brunner realizes that he has to share the room with Captain von Arnim. Von Arnim starts a conversation with Brunner and tells him that his fiancée is waiting in front of the door and that he would like to spend the night with her. When the power went out, von Arnim picks up his fiancée, Brunner gets a kerosene light in the hallway. In the room, Brunner recognizes that the fiancé is the DRK sister whom he took with him to Proskurow. After the three of them had a drink, the two withdraw with a toast, "Auf Morgen", and Brunner begins to read through the files. With the study of the case file, a struggle with the conscience begins for Brunner: the experienced situation with First Lieutenant Ernst, the rejected petition for clemency, as well as the intimate situation between von Arnim and his fiancée. These circumstances show Brunner - she is afraid for his life, he invokes his duty to be a soldier - why Baranowski fled: out of love for Ljuba and Stano and the fear of death. However, Brunner, in his emotion, is powerless to do something about it. Brunner finds himself in prison again before the execution date, speaks to Baranowski, continues to pray with him and lets him write a letter to Lyuba:

“Ljuba, unfortunately I have to inform you that I will be shot in an hour. Thank you for everyone, for all your love. I always think of our ... I kiss you forever, your Fyodor. "

The pastor promises Baranowski to personally send the letter to Lyuba. Shortly afterwards, Judge-Martial Dr. Greitner in the cell door, who tells Baranowski that the petition for clemency has been rejected and that he is now being executed . After the execution, the court judge found the following cynical words for Brunner:

"You did it perfectly, my respect!"

DVD

On February 16, 2007 the film was released on the Kinowelt GmbH label. The picture format is 4: 3 and in Dolby Digital 1.0 mono .

Reviews

  • Evangelischer Filmbeobachter (1958): “This takes a stand against the war with a clarity that German post-war film has never done before. At a time when the subject of war is being exploited on the screen without hesitation or responsibility at cheap prices, this act cannot be overestimated. "
  • Cinema time: “Restless night is a consistent and relentless rejection of the war. Harnack consciously contrasts secondary virtues such as order and obedience, which allowed the Nazis to rule at all, with values ​​such as love and freedom, which are immediately suppressed by the totalitarian regime so as not to endanger its existence. "
  • War film: No more cheering . In: Der Spiegel . No. 43 , 1958 ( online - 22 October 1958 ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Film and History - Restless Night. In: geschichte-projekte-hannover.de. Filminstitut Hannover , accessed on October 3, 2019.