Before begin with the review, it must be pointed out that the star and director of this film, Leni Riefenstahl, was an incredibly complex and controversial lady...and, despite her protests, a rotten person. Just read through the trivia section for this film and you'll see how she lied about the fates of the extras in the movie. Perhaps some did survive the gas chambers, her claim that 'they all survived the war' was just a self-serving lie--a way to justify her use of prisoners as extras in this film.
My reason for wanting to see the film certainly is not because I think Riefenstahl was a nice person. But, you can't just ignore her films--many were artistic and of exceptional quality. Plus, after I saw her in the wonderfully well done biography "The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl" and heard about "Tiefland" I was determined to see the film that took her over a decade to complete.
When the film begins, you'd swear that apart from some sound effects and music it's another one of her silent films. The cinematography, like these earlier films, is exceptionally artistic and lovely. The pacing and style also fit into this style of film. It is only later that the film becomes a more typical talking picture--and that is when the main story begins.
The film concerns a despicable Marquis living in what appears to be the Basque region of Spain. The man is thoroughly awful in every way. The peasants in his village are starving and their crops failing because he's taken all the water for his cattle. Yet, despite their resulting poverty, he demands payment of their yearly rent! He also has run up huge debts and plans on marrying the rich Mayor's daughter (who he doesn't love) to pay off the debts...if he has to. But in the meantime, he treats her terribly and is just an all-around jerk.
After the Marquis observes a beautiful(?) nomadic dancer (Riefenstahl), he is determined to make her his mistress. At first he is kind to her but it's all an act to get her to love him. When she learns about who he really is, she tries to run but he uses his men to track her down. They find her in the Shepherd's hut--he's found her and nursed her after she fell in the mountains (and EVERY Reifenstahl film except for her propaganda films has mountains!). The Shepherd later learns that the Marquis wants this simple man to marry the dancer and he is thrilled. He, too, saw Riefenstahl dance and loves the idea of marrying her. What he doesn't know is that the Marquis' plan is for the Shepherd's marriage to be a false one--and the Marquis will continue to sleep with Riefenstahl while he, too, is married. Nice guy, huh? However, the plan begins to unravel with the Shepherd and his new wife find that they do love each other and the Shepherd is not about to let his new bride be some jerk's concubine--leading to the best scene in the film--the finale.
All in all, this is a lovely and very well made film. So, while I cannot at all respect Riefenstahl as a human being, I must admit that she was very talented--especially as a director. As for her acting in the film, it wasn't bad but she simply was too old for this role---and it was difficult to imagine the swine of a Marquis to fight so hard to have her.
My reason for wanting to see the film certainly is not because I think Riefenstahl was a nice person. But, you can't just ignore her films--many were artistic and of exceptional quality. Plus, after I saw her in the wonderfully well done biography "The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl" and heard about "Tiefland" I was determined to see the film that took her over a decade to complete.
When the film begins, you'd swear that apart from some sound effects and music it's another one of her silent films. The cinematography, like these earlier films, is exceptionally artistic and lovely. The pacing and style also fit into this style of film. It is only later that the film becomes a more typical talking picture--and that is when the main story begins.
The film concerns a despicable Marquis living in what appears to be the Basque region of Spain. The man is thoroughly awful in every way. The peasants in his village are starving and their crops failing because he's taken all the water for his cattle. Yet, despite their resulting poverty, he demands payment of their yearly rent! He also has run up huge debts and plans on marrying the rich Mayor's daughter (who he doesn't love) to pay off the debts...if he has to. But in the meantime, he treats her terribly and is just an all-around jerk.
After the Marquis observes a beautiful(?) nomadic dancer (Riefenstahl), he is determined to make her his mistress. At first he is kind to her but it's all an act to get her to love him. When she learns about who he really is, she tries to run but he uses his men to track her down. They find her in the Shepherd's hut--he's found her and nursed her after she fell in the mountains (and EVERY Reifenstahl film except for her propaganda films has mountains!). The Shepherd later learns that the Marquis wants this simple man to marry the dancer and he is thrilled. He, too, saw Riefenstahl dance and loves the idea of marrying her. What he doesn't know is that the Marquis' plan is for the Shepherd's marriage to be a false one--and the Marquis will continue to sleep with Riefenstahl while he, too, is married. Nice guy, huh? However, the plan begins to unravel with the Shepherd and his new wife find that they do love each other and the Shepherd is not about to let his new bride be some jerk's concubine--leading to the best scene in the film--the finale.
All in all, this is a lovely and very well made film. So, while I cannot at all respect Riefenstahl as a human being, I must admit that she was very talented--especially as a director. As for her acting in the film, it wasn't bad but she simply was too old for this role---and it was difficult to imagine the swine of a Marquis to fight so hard to have her.