eabakkum Review of Comradeship

Comradeship (1931)

An early film about a catastrophe (in a coal mine)

[8/10 · 31 January 2011]

This is another excellent film of director Pabst. Apparently the story is based on true events, which makes it even more interesting. It is nice to see as a main character Ernst Busch, the German singer of protest songs and a predecessor of Woody Guthry and Bob Dylan. But first of all, it is a film about a catastrophe, with lots of suspension. This time it is not a failing airplane, a sinking ship or a burning skyscraper, but an underground coal mine. The underlying theme is also fascinating and in fact quite simple, namely the international solidarity among miners. The actual realization of this solidarity is another matter, and the film highlights the tension between hostility and collective interests on all levels. The stage is the borderland between France and Germany just after the First World War. Clearly there is still a lot of animosity between the two countrymen, even though the decision to declare war had been made on a governmental level (but why did the people cooperate?). The regional coal field is exploited by a French mine and an adjacent German one. The French part is afflicted by gas pockets, and eventually a huge explosion occurs, which leaves many French miners trapped. The subsequent rescue operation requires special equipment, notably oxygen masks. The German miners realize the general shortage of such equipment, and spontaneously send their own rescue teams to the disaster area. There are some original features, such as the underground gates separating the German and French galleries. The shots actually give you the feeling of being present in the mine (and this is even more supported by the black-and-white display). We witness the miserable life of the miners and their families, in general, and not restricted to just the times of disaster. Then, after the completion of the rescue operation there is a fraternization between all the miners. "Pitman is pitman". Another interesting feature about this film is its cultural kinship with the later Bolshewist films, notably the ones from East-Germany (for instance Sonnensucher, about a uranium mine). A not so hidden message is that workers are mostly good and leaders are usually corrupt. Now there is some truth in the existence of professional deformations, but the Bolshewist film makers transformed it into a blatant dogma. Pabst manages to mediate the message in a credible form without creating caricatures. So in my opinion it is an enjoyable and historically important film. A documentary akin to Kameradschaft and about the same period is "Ellende in de Borinage", of Joris Ivens. You can also consider Germinal, Subterra, Matewan, or the more recent Harlan County War. If you like social films, consider seeing my other reviews.