Like the moon over fire and blood
Like the moon over fire and blood is an ORF film from 1981 about Maria Theresa's first year in office .
action
The film takes place in the years 1740 and 1741, i.e. in the last year of Emperor Charles VI's reign . as well as in the first year of his daughter's reign, Archduchess Maria Theresa . The location of the action is the respective stay of the Archduchess and later Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, mostly Vienna and the Hofburg there , but also rural Austrian areas and finally Budapest .
The film deals with the political situation of the House of Habsburg and the Austrian hereditary lands around 1740 in general, and the role played by Maria Theresa and her husband Duke Franz von Lothringen in particular.
The culmination point around which the plot revolves in terms of content and form - for example in terms of playing time - is the Prussian invasion of Silesia , then an Austrian province, in December 1740 a few months after the death of the old emperor in October. The Prussian King Friedrich II , who also only ascended the throne in May 1740 , ultimately binds the recognition of the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, on the approval of which Austria's status in Europe then depends, to the cession of Silesia; Maria Theresa, in agreement with her husband, rejects this demand, and a war ensues , for which Austria is insufficiently prepared due to high national debt and diplomatic isolation in Europe. In addition to Prussia, the great power of France also opposes the young queen. In April 1741 the Austrian army was defeated by the Prussians at Mollwitz , and the Prussians advanced on the capital Vienna. The archducal family has to flee their residence to the east.
The film reflects the drama of the political situation, which meant an existence-threatening crisis for the Austrian monarchy. In the end, Maria Theresa, despite the supposed hopelessness of the situation, is in this danger: In a passionate appearance before the Hungarian state parliament on June 25, 1741, which exudes both despair and determination, the young queen, who has just given birth to her first son, can win over the assembled Hungarian aristocracy to grant them the tax money they need to finance the defensive struggle against Prussia and France. The film ends with this scene.
style
The film is staged as a period film with melodramatic and mannerist elements. Stage design, clothing, language and linguistic and physical posture are modeled on the suspected or proven habitus of the action time. In addition to the actions of great politics, which are essentially portrayed historically authentically, there are real or realistic scenes from everyday life at court and not at court. Family life at the imperial court - especially the father-daughter relationship between Charles VI. and Maria Theresa as well as the couple relationship between Maria Theresia and Franz Stephan - typical diversions such as hunting and fool's theater, but also the confrontation of the young queen with the angry, rebellious population in the streets of Vienna are staged.
The historical framework is formed by the scenic portrayal of the most important stages in the political development from Maria Theresa's marriage to Franz Stephan in 1736 up to the negotiations with the Hungarian estates in 1741. For illustration, the personal relationships between the actors and their changes are shown realistically. such as the relationship of the old emperor and Maria Theresa to their ministers in general and to the first minister Johann Christoph von Bartenstein in particular.