La caduta degli dei (Götterdämmerung)

English title: The Damned

Also known as: Damnés (les)

Genre: period and war drama  

With: Dirk Bogarde (Friedrich Bruckmann), Ingrid Thulin (Baroness Sophie von Essenbeck), Helmut Griem (Aschenbach), Helmut Berger (Martin von Essenbeck), Renaud Verley (Günther von Essenbeck), Umberto Orsini (Herbert Thallman), Charlotte Rampling (Elisabeth Thallman), Reinhard Kolldehoff (Baron Konstantin von Essenbeck), Albrecht Schoenhals (Baron Joachim von Essenbeck), Florinda Bolkan (Olga), Nora Ricci (Governess), Irina Wanka (Lisa Keller)

Director: Luchino Visconti

Screenplay: Nicola Badalucco, Enrico Medioli and Luchino Visconti

Release: 1969

Studio: Praesidens, Pegaso Cinematografica, Italnoleggio Cinematografico, Warner Bros. Pictures

Rating: 14A

MBiS score: 8.8/10 

 

‟We are an elite society where everything is permissible.” 

 

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Story-line: in February 1933, Joachim von Essenbeck, the powerful head of Essenbeck Steel Works, invites his family to celebrate his birthday at Kleisburg Castle. At first, everything goes rather well until a news event – the burning of the Reichstag – rattles some nerves. Then, at the dinner table, tempers flare up again when Joachim announces that ESW, a well-known arms manufacturer, will cooperate more closely with the Nazis. The stage is set for a fierce battle among the Essenbecks… on a personal, corporate and political level.

Pluses: intense acting by Dirk Bogarde (the ambitious Friedrich), Helmut Berger (a conflicted Martin), Ingrid Thulin (as the passionate yet cold Sophie), Helmut Griem (the merciless Aschenbach) and Reinhard Kolldehoff (a ruthless Konstantin), formidable direction by one of the all-time greats, a full, twisty and relentless screenplay combining fiction and historical events to achieve a biting, monstrous narrative, excellent cinematography and editing, luxurious production values and an effective musical score that goes from the exquisite and sensuous to the dramatic and grotesque.

Minuses: the first time I watched THE DAMNED, I quit after 10 minutes or so because I got the characters all mixed up. The following guide may seem fastidious but it will allow you to distinguish the main characters from the first moment they appear on screen: 

(1) the man taking a bath is Konstantin, Joachim’s eldest son and young Gunther’s father; Konstantin is a member of the SA (a Nazi militia);

(2) the little girl is Thilde, daughter of Elisabeth and Herbert (their other daughter is Erika);

(3) Thilde will run over to see Gunther playing his cello;

(4) next, we meet Joachim, the family patriarch, who is seen kissing a picture of his aviator son who died at war;

(5) the couple discussing politics and family matters in a bedroom are Elisabeth, Joachim’s niece, and her husband Herbert, an ESW executive;

(6) the two men driving over to Kleisburg Castle are Aschenbach (a member of the SS) and Friedrich (a manager at ESW). You will hear them exchange pointed views on political issues, corporate matters and Friedrich’s lover, Sophie);

(7) at the castle, a show is given in Joachim’s honour; after Gunther’s cello piece, Martin (Sophie’s son) sings for the guests;

(8) finally, we see Sophie looking on, enjoying her son’s performance; she is the aviator’s widow.

Comments: all the glamour that dazzles the eye in the opening scenes will fade away to reveal the tawdry goings-on in the Essenbeck empire. I have read somewhere that a parallel can be drawn between this movie and another great Visconti work, THE LEOPARD; true, both films feature aristocratic families at a turning point but THE LEOPARD is sophisticated and philosophical in tone and content while this one is a festival of deceit, decadence, death and despair, a mean-spirited soap opera in which most characters are despicable yet interesting. THE DAMNED is a clear vision of hell and the quote above is only a hint of the family nightmares you will uncover. 

 

MBiS 

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Picnic at Hanging Rock

Genre: mystery drama

With: the Appleyard College staff: Rachel Roberts (Mrs. Appleyard), Vivean Gray (Miss Greta McCraw), Helen Morse (Mlle. de Poitiers), Kirsty Child (Miss Lumley); the  schoolgirls: Anne-Louise Lambert (Miranda St Clare), Karen Robson (Irma), Jane Vallis (Marion Quade), Christine Schuler (Edith), Margaret Nelson (Sara Waybourne); other important characters: Wyn Roberts (Sgt. Bumpher), Dominic Guard (Michael Fitzhubert), John Jarratt (Albert Crundall)

Director: Peter Weir

Screenplay: Cliff Green (based on Joan Lindsay’s novel)

Release: 1975

Studio: British Empire Films Australia, South Australian Film Corporation, Australian Film Commission et al.

Rating: PG

MBiS score: 8.3/10 

 

‟You must learn to love someone else, apart from me, Sara.”

 

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Story-line: we find ourselves in the state of Victoria (Australia) on February 14, 1900. It’s a glorious day outside and the white-clad schoolgirls of Appleyard College are looking forward to their Valentine’s Day picnic at Hanging Rock. Once at the site, the girls are joyful, most of them feel pleasantly indolent but Marion is eager to take measurements at the base of the rock. With permission from one of the College chaperones, she wanders off with Irma, Miranda the poet and a reluctant Edith but none of them – and no one in the Appleyard party – really knows how this will all turn out.

Pluses: fine acting by an evenly able cast (especially an austere Rachel Roberts), flawless direction, a strange, dramatic yet delicate screenplay strong on atmosphere, effective dialogues and tension-building, splendid cinematography, aesthetically-inclined production values (almost obsessively so at first), a varied, mood-inducing musical score and a moment-of-truth ending that wisely leaves a few loose ends untied.

Minuses: the movie’s beginning is slow and a bit annoying but all of this is part of the set-up… be patient!

Comments: PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK is a two-sided movie. At first, it feels dreamlike, sensuous and excessively mannered – reflecting the schoolgirls’ expectations as they leave stuffy old Appleyard College – but this changes radically at the 35-minute mark when the film’s true intent and the rock’s almost blinding attraction become apparent. From then on, a chain reaction is unleashed, a series of events to which people respond in sometimes appalling ways. A strong sense of mystery floats over this skilful and original exercise in style, Peter Weir’s second try at direction. Not everything is revealed… but no explanations are necessary. This movie is spooky enough as it is.  

MBiS 

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