Tiefland: A Review (Review #2130)

TIEFLAND

Tiefland (Lowlands) is the final film from Leni Riefenstahl. Now damned for her work during the Nazi era, Tiefland gives viewers a glimpse of what could have been Riefenstahl's cinematic output if not for her now-notorious connection to the Third Reich. Visually rich if melodramatic, Tiefland will almost never be judged on its own merits for good or bad. 

There could be no more two different men than Pedro and Don Sebastian, Marquis of Roccabruna. Pedro (Franz Eichberger) is a simple shepherd living in the mountains. He cares only for his sheep and his flute. Don Sebastian (Bernhard Minetti) is haughty, arrogant and powerful. He cares only for his prized bulls. Don Sebastian cares so much for his prized bulls that he redirects the water from the villagers to his cattle. As Pedro lives in the mountains, this does not affect him. 

It does affect the villagers and has an unintended consequence. Don Sebastian depends on the villagers bringing in good crops so he can make money off them. However, because he is taking up all the water for his cattle, which he oddly does not sell, he ends up creating the financial situation that he is facing. Creditors are starting to come after him. In desperation, the Marquis turns to Dona Amelia (Maria Koppenhoffer), the Mayor's wealthy daughter. Amelia would like to be a Marchioness, but she and Sebastian loath each other.

Enter into this maelstrom the mysterious traveling dancer Martha (director Leni Riefenstahl). She entrances the innocent, virginal Pedro and the dastardly sexually voracious Don Sebastian. The former returns to the mountains. The latter orders her to his castle and forces Martha to become his mistress. The Marquis' financial straits increase, and he comes up with a dastardly scheme. He will marry Amelia while keeping our Gypsy queen as his mistress. Martha, who has tried to help the peasants, runs away after a brutal beating and flees to the mountains. Pedro is again enchanted by this beauty. She is eventually found and returned to Don Sebastian. Now, circumstances bring Pedro and Martha into a forced marriage. Will Sebastian get his cake and eat it too? Who will triumph for Martha's love? 

I do not know if Tiefland will ever truly be judged for itself. It will always have much outside negative elements that will make it hard viewing. Just having Leni Riefenstahl as director, screenwriter and lead is a bridge too far for many given her role in directing the Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will. No project of hers will ever be seen separate from her involvement in the Third Reich. 

Then there is the question of the film's extras. The peasants, especially children, were Roma (then known as Gypsies). They were brought in from concentration camps. Exactly what Riefenstahl knew about both where Tiefland's extras came from or what their fate was is still, per my understanding, a subject of fierce debate. Knowing that the working conditions on  Tiefland for some of the extras was the result of war crimes makes viewing a hard thing. 

I think only someone who has no prior knowledge of Riefenstahl and the extent of the Gypsie persecution would be able to fully judge the film on its own merits. 

I will do my best to judge Tiefland on those merits. There is much to admire in the film in terms of its visuals. Riefenstahl is a mistress of the visual art of filmmaking. Some sequences and scenes are impressive to look at. Of note is when Pedro sees Martha in the clouds. This is quite a clever shot that catches the viewers' attention. The montage of the melting mountain ice to a gushing waterfall is equally impressive. The last shot too is very poetic. 

Riefenstahl loved moving the camera. There was a great deal of flow in Tiefland, as if she were averse to keeping things still. There was a great effort to keep things moving, to create a sweeping manner in the film. 

In terms of its look, Tiefland has much to be admired. In terms of acting and story, Tiefland is a little weak. Granted, Riefenstahl adapted the film from an older opera and play. Therefore, there was something a bit old fashioned to the narrative. One also has to consider that Tiefland began work in 1940 but by its release in 1954 there had been many hurdles in its production. The war and post-war eras had prevented Riefenstahl from working on the film in a straightforward manner. 

The best thing that one can say about the acting is that it kept to Tiefland's melodramatic manner. Leni Riefenstahl, I suspect, let her vanity get the best of her. It is interesting seeing her dance again on film. She had started out as a dancer, and Tiefland gives her that opportunity to showcase her dancing. However, she was 38 when Tiefland began filming. It is a terrible thing to say, even to someone as notorious as Leni Riefenstahl. However, she was too old for the part of this temptress.  

That aside, I thought Riefenstahl handled herself well as the sympathetic Martha. She has a soft voice that fits the character. She gave a mostly credible performance. She also directed her cast quite well. Minetti was short a mustache to twirl as the evil Marquis. He was, I found, appropriately melodramatic without going over the top. Franz Eichberger made Pedro into a believable innocent. He was capable of battle, especially in the final confrontation with the Marquis.

Tiefland loved going into symbolism. We start with a ten-minute dialogue-free sequence, where all we hear is the beautiful music and the shepherd fighting off a wolf. That makes Pedro's climatic declaration to the Marquis, "You are the wolf", all the more on-the-nose. 

It will be a long time before Tiefland can be judged separate from Leni Riefenstahl's notorious legacy. Visually impressive if a bit dull in story, Tiefland can be appreciated in its overall look. The film is mercifully short, so one can watch without feeling drained at the end. 

Would people think better of Tiefland if perhaps another director had filmed it? I think so. Leni Riefenstahl had a great eye for visual splendor. Whether that artistic eye could or should have been used for moral clarity is something only the viewer can answer for him/herself. 

DECISION: C+