"Sangen Om Den Eldröda Blomman" (1919) By Mauritz Stiller
Ferdinand Von Galitzien
recent and remarkable silent surprise for this Herr Von; the oeuvre is
an excellent Herr Stiller silent film that this German count watched
in
a newly restored and tinted copy. It combines the well-known
aesthetics, technical improvements and artistic merits for which the
Nordic director was known and praised since those early silent times
till today.
The film tells of the merry and carefree love life of young Olof
( Herr
Lars Hanson ) a woodsman who during his search for true love, seduces
many fauleins ( just like this German aristocrat… well, not exactly
because the purpose of this Herr Von's seduction of rich fräulein
heiresses are their great fortunes… ). He will suffer disappointment
and deception, all those problems that turn up in any loving
relationship. Finally he will find responsibility and maturity,
learning during his particular quest that his actions always have
consequences in different degrees to the people around him. This Herr
Von can describe "Sangen Om…" as a kind of coming of age film, the
special introspective growth toward maturity of a free and easy
youngster.
As this German count said before, the film displays Stiller's
characteristic artistic virtues. ; in the first part of the film, we
can see elements of comedy, not exactly like the comedy of intrigues
in
other Stiller films, but humor of a more cheerful sort, highlighting
the self-involvement of our hero. Olof 's frivolous flirtations with
the different girls eventually turn romantic and then turn into drama.
There is conflict in the troubled relationship between Olof and his
father and later with the father of his beloved. The beautiful and
wild
natural landscapes of Norrland and northern Sweden lend the tale a
certain power and is characteristic of Herr Stiller's other silents
where Nature emerges as an important character in the story. This is
strongly reflected throughout the film but especially during the
frantic scene wherein Olof descends into the troubled waters of a
river, a beautiful metaphor for the hardships that our hero has to
endure until he finds himself.
"Sangen Om Den Eldröda Blomman" is an excellent, beautiful film, a
solid, technically perfect and intricate production of 1919 that
demonstrates once again the importance of Herr Stiller for silent film
history.
And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because
this German Count must return to Teutonic nature.
Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien
http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/