Twelve chimes
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Twelve chimes |
| Original title | Zwölfeläuten (international: The Silent Bell) |
| Country of production | Austria |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 2001 |
| length | 90 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Harald Sicherheitsitz |
| script | Susanne friend |
| production | Kurt J. Mrkwicka |
| music | Lothar Scherpe |
| camera | Helmut Pirnat |
| cut | Ingrid Koller |
| occupation | |
| |
Zwölfeläuten is a 2001 film drama . The plot is based on the story "Zwölfeläuten" by Heinz Rudolf Unger and was made into a film by Harald Sicherheitsitz with the team of Austrian folk actors .
action
March 1945, a village in Styria:
The war is almost over and yet the last bells are still being collected to melt down for cannons. Anna Lindmoser is buried in the (fictional) remote town of St. Kilian. While the dead woman is being handed over to the earth, the children Adolf "Dolferl" and his girlfriend Cilli ring the church bell. "Dolferl" promised his "Lindmoser grandma" this , because "otherwise she cannot be dead in peace." The village community is shocked by the incident, after all, local group leader Fichtelhuber bribed the responsible NSDAP district leader with three stags so that St. Killian can keep his bell.
But this is not the only news: "Toni" Lindmoser, son of the dead, has deserted and has joined the partisans in the woods. He would like to go back to his home village with his blind Spanish comrade Facundo, but is seen in the forest by Fichtelhuber, who is following them. Lindmoser's father hides "Toni" and Facundo in time on his farm. Fichtelhuber has not seen who it is, but wants to get the mayor Sonnleitner to inform the district administration that there are partisans around St. Kilian.
The village is wondering who rang the bell, but hopes that this unique thing will not be noticed by anyone. SS-Sturmbannführer Kroll and the district leader noticed the incident and burst into the middle of the funeral feast. Fichtelhuber tells of the alleged partisan hiding place, whereupon Kroll and the district leader give the order to set up the "Landwacht" of St. Kilian: The "last contingent" of fit men should be ready the next day with Kroll's SS unit for the "partisan hunt". The next day the men gather in the village square. Under the leadership of the "stone farmer's wife", the women try to prevent them from marching out: "We won't allow you to take the last of the men from us!" But Kroll is unmoved and the troop disappears into the forest. Nevertheless, the women do not allow themselves to be confused and sink the bell, which is planned to be removed for the next day, into the lake with the help of "Toni" and Facundo.
The "Landwacht" returns to the restaurant in the evening, frozen through. None of the villagers was injured, but "there isn't much left of the SS ." The "stone farmer" says that the bell was hidden. Mayor Sonnleitner was shocked, the inveterate Nazis Schwarzenegger and Fichtelhuber have ideological reservations. During the discussion, "Dolferl" secretly brings the weapons he has brought into the back room. A drama develops. A lot of personal hatred erupts and each threatens the other. It is said that Lindmoser was driven to ruin and that Schwarzenegger bought his farm from him so that "Simmerl" becomes the son of the ancestral farm and does not have to move in. "Toni" Lindmoser, however, was not spared military service. Fichtelhuber's loyalty to the party is also limited when it comes to its advantages. The villagers confront him with the fact that he is secretly listening to American radio. Fichtelhuber finally threatens Lindmoser with his hunting rifle, when Toni storms out of the back room. He informs those present that his fellow partisans have lured the SS into an ambush and that his father has faked an injury to spare the villagers from the exchange of fire. "You owe my Toni that you are all still alive." says "Kathi". When Fichtelhuber takes up the gun again, "Dolferls" threatens mother Kronhauser, who is having an affair with the forester. Fichtelhuber is asked to leave the inn.
The next morning "Dolferl" discovers the hanged Fichtelhuber in the church's bell tower. When the SS returned to take the bell with them, there was neither it nor the dead Fichtelhuber in the tower. Kroll threatens the villagers to pull out the bell "or would they rather go to the concentration camp" . The district leader is meanwhile in the office of the mayor: Kronhauser, the stone farmer, Schwarzenegger, the pastor and Sonnleitner want to blame the disappeared Fichtelhuber for the matter of the bell. "Simmerl" storms into the office: "Heil Hitler. I know who's got the bells and where he's hiding them." Schwarzenegger's son overheard "Toni" and "Kathi" having sex and now whistles to the partisans out of jealousy.
The SS arrested both "Simmerl" and "Toni" and his father. The three are already ready to be shot when the news comes that the SS unit has to move out as quickly as possible because the Red Army has already advanced as far as Lake Balaton. The villagers "Jogl" and Facundo let sheep out of the stable with "Dolferl" and "Cilli" to cause confusion. Kroll shoots an animal and then runs off with his SS men.
A few weeks later the snow has melted and a beautiful spring day begins: "Kathi" and "Toni" get married and at this point the bell is brought back into the church tower . Jogl collects all Nazi utensils such as flags, pennants and pictures and notices "[...] they said dig it, maybe you can use the whole thing again!" Lindmoser is appointed mayor by the Russian occupation forces. When the bride and groom leave the church, the worn-out Kroll suddenly appears. Facundo, unable to see the seriousness of the situation due to his blindness, is shot by the fleeing SS Oberscharführer . The film ends with Facundo's grave being shoveled up.
criticism
"Filming of a play that brands followers and pillories the most varied of opportunistic behaviors."
“A clever story about seducibility, told seriously, but at times not uncomfortable and borrowed from the Volkstheater. Unger's piece was later re-edited as a narrative. "
Awards
- 2001 - TV Prize of the Austrian National Education
interpretation
The core question of the narrative / film is dealing with follow-up, fanaticism and the importance of symbols. Many of the villagers seem to have adapted to the Nazi system, but some are also staunch National Socialists. It is said, for example, that Fichtelhuber was the first NSDAP party member in the whole area. Soon after him, Schwarzenegger also received the brown party membership card. But even these two are not prepared to sacrifice everything to their convictions: Hubert Fichtelhuber shirked military service and listened to "enemy broadcasters". Schwarzenegger has also arranged it so that "Simmerl" does not have to go to war. Unger shows the political ambivalence of the people, similar to Helmut Qualtinger as " Mr. Karl ".
Personal enmities between the villagers are also discussed: Schwarzenegger and Fichtelhuber are shown as misogynistic, rowdy and ruthless. Sonnleitner is portrayed as a "careerist". The opportunism of the residents is particularly evident at the end, when z. B. Sonnleitner pretends to be a "resistance fighter" before the "Russians" because of the incident with the bell.
Origin and production
"Zwölfeläuten" is based on the story of the same name by Heinz Rudolf Unger . The story was dramatized in 1985 for the Vienna Volkstheater and performed with great success (director: Hermann Schmidt). In 2001 the story was filmed with well-known Austrian folk actors and can be seen repeatedly on ORF or on 3sat .
The scene of the action is the fictional municipality of St. Kilian, which is said to be in Lower Styria . The actual location, however, was Innervillgraten in East Tyrol .
The title refers to the fact that the pastor thinks he has other worries than if he could "ring twelve".
Web links
- Zwölfeläuten in theInternet Movie Database(English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Zwölfeläuten. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Zwölfeläuten , tvspielfilm.de , accessed on September 28, 2014