Customer Reviews

Der Untertan [VHS]

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This film was produced by the renowned DEFA studies and directed by Wolfgang Staudte. It is a filmic representation of the novel by Heinrich Mann ("The Loyal Subject," in English). But it is highly disappointing and disjointed.

First of all, in the movie, the story is so condensed and so much material is excised that the viewer doesn't wholly know what's going on unless he/she has read the novel. Kühlemann and his bequest aren't explained hardly at all. The crooked land speculation with Wulkow is missing. Diederich's two decorations (which are significant in the novel) are missing. The attorney Jadassohn is turned into Mennicke, so the theme of antisemitism is not present in the movie. Napoleon Fischer, one of the main characters of the novel, has almost no presence in the movie. The rivalry with Wolfgang Buck is missing. Diederich's spreading of rumors is barely present. Sister Magda's courtship is missing. The tensions with Old Sötbier over the management of the factory are barely present in the film version.

Second, the subtitles are a disaster. They are simple white typeface on a black-and-white background. Half the time, the viewer can't seem them. Even when they are visible, they represent only 3/4 to 1/2 of the actual spoken dialogue. And the translation used British English, including British abbreviations not known to American viewers. Some of the translations aren't even that correct, esp. regarding Diederich's fraternity. "Studentenkorporation" is not "student association" (it's not a student government or mere club!), and "Verbindung" does not mean "connection" in this instance. It is another name for the Studentenkorporation or Burschenschaft.

Finally, the style is off-putting. The cinematography, esp. in the sections on Diederich's youth, is stylized and self-consciously avant-garde. And this was a film made in communist East Germany. If you couldn't pick up on that through the repeated references to the oppressive bourgeoisie and the heroic working class, there is an epilogue added to the movie, which is not present in the novel (written in 1918). This epilogue basically states that (capitalist, imperialist, nationalist) men like Diederich Hessling and Kaiser Wilhelm II were responsible for World War II and the destruction of German cities in that war.

My advice: Read the novel. Avoid the movie.