With having recently picked up the wonderful Spanish Neo-Realism (N-R) film Mi Tio Jacinto on DVD for a friend's Easter present,I felt that it would be a good idea to track down a German N-R title so that he could hopefully have an exciting Neo-Realism double bill,which led to me getting ready to enter the mines of German Neo-Realism.
The plot:
Based right on the boarder of northern France and Germany,a coal mine is dug up by groups of French and German miners.Despite being based right next to each other,the French and German miners never join forces due to there being apartheid,which goes from walls being built in the mine to separate the groups,to dance halls having one section for the German's,and one section for the French.
Ignoring an increasing risk of firers breaking out by building walls to close off the dangerous areas,a large group of French miner's discover that they have unintentionally dug a bit too deep,which leads to a huge fire being covering a huge section of the mine,and causing it to cave in.Attempting to rescue the trapped miners,the French miners discover that they do not have the right equipment,which leads to them strongly fearing that the trapped miners will have to be left there.
Hearing the screams of terror from across the boarder,the German miners begin to fear that something terrible has happened.Feeling unsure about what to do next,the miners all gradually decide that, 'A miner is a miner,no matter where he comes from',and decide to take a huge risk,by crossing over the boarder,in the hope of getting the trapped miners out safely.
View on the film:
Making rough thumb nail sketches of the miners which are not overly detailed,so that the audience can place themselves in the miners shoes, the screenplay by Anna Gmeyner,Peter Martin Lampel,Karl Otten,Gerbert Rappaport,Leon Werth and Ladislaus Vajda clearly takes a real life event (from 1906) and places it in a modern era to show the direction that Germany could take in avoiding WWII.
Avoiding the risk of making the film's message overly idealistic,the writer's display the hellish conditions that the unlikely alliance of the miners rises from,with all of the miners ignoring the serious risks of fires,and also the fact that hardly any of the coal can be sold,thanks to the huge level of debt that hit post-WWI Germany,due to this being the only job available in town.Along with revealing the amazing bravery of each miner,the writers contrast the heroism with a surprisingly sharp-tooth ending,which sadly shows that everything comes 'full circle'.
Shooting on what appears to be a real location,director Georg Wilhelm Pabst superbly shows the nightmare conditions which the screenplay builds,with Pabst covering the entire background of the movie with mountains of unsold coal which are lit up by a hellish fire that turns the mine into a vicious horror.Along with covering the title in raw,gritty blacks & greys,Pabst also teams up with sound editor Adolf Jansen to build a number of extremely dazzling set pieces,which go from a gang of trapped miners searching for a phone,to the tapping of pipes leading to a French miner experiencing a terrifying flashback to WWI.
Rising out of the ashes,Pabst displays the heroic rescue in the film with a real precision,thanks to Pabst revealing that he is not afraid to 'pause' the title so that the viewer can fully soak in the extraordinary atmosphere of the titles most compassionate scenes,as Pabst shows that comradeship,not war,is the mine that should continue being dug.
The plot:
Based right on the boarder of northern France and Germany,a coal mine is dug up by groups of French and German miners.Despite being based right next to each other,the French and German miners never join forces due to there being apartheid,which goes from walls being built in the mine to separate the groups,to dance halls having one section for the German's,and one section for the French.
Ignoring an increasing risk of firers breaking out by building walls to close off the dangerous areas,a large group of French miner's discover that they have unintentionally dug a bit too deep,which leads to a huge fire being covering a huge section of the mine,and causing it to cave in.Attempting to rescue the trapped miners,the French miners discover that they do not have the right equipment,which leads to them strongly fearing that the trapped miners will have to be left there.
Hearing the screams of terror from across the boarder,the German miners begin to fear that something terrible has happened.Feeling unsure about what to do next,the miners all gradually decide that, 'A miner is a miner,no matter where he comes from',and decide to take a huge risk,by crossing over the boarder,in the hope of getting the trapped miners out safely.
View on the film:
Making rough thumb nail sketches of the miners which are not overly detailed,so that the audience can place themselves in the miners shoes, the screenplay by Anna Gmeyner,Peter Martin Lampel,Karl Otten,Gerbert Rappaport,Leon Werth and Ladislaus Vajda clearly takes a real life event (from 1906) and places it in a modern era to show the direction that Germany could take in avoiding WWII.
Avoiding the risk of making the film's message overly idealistic,the writer's display the hellish conditions that the unlikely alliance of the miners rises from,with all of the miners ignoring the serious risks of fires,and also the fact that hardly any of the coal can be sold,thanks to the huge level of debt that hit post-WWI Germany,due to this being the only job available in town.Along with revealing the amazing bravery of each miner,the writers contrast the heroism with a surprisingly sharp-tooth ending,which sadly shows that everything comes 'full circle'.
Shooting on what appears to be a real location,director Georg Wilhelm Pabst superbly shows the nightmare conditions which the screenplay builds,with Pabst covering the entire background of the movie with mountains of unsold coal which are lit up by a hellish fire that turns the mine into a vicious horror.Along with covering the title in raw,gritty blacks & greys,Pabst also teams up with sound editor Adolf Jansen to build a number of extremely dazzling set pieces,which go from a gang of trapped miners searching for a phone,to the tapping of pipes leading to a French miner experiencing a terrifying flashback to WWI.
Rising out of the ashes,Pabst displays the heroic rescue in the film with a real precision,thanks to Pabst revealing that he is not afraid to 'pause' the title so that the viewer can fully soak in the extraordinary atmosphere of the titles most compassionate scenes,as Pabst shows that comradeship,not war,is the mine that should continue being dug.