Lang silent film to screen in Jakarta

Nauval Yazid ,  Contributor ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 05/10/2008 10:34 AM  |  Entertainment

Die-hard film buffs and serious cinephiles in town will next week get the chance to enjoy a rare screening of Fritz Lang's early silent film Destiny (Der M*de Tod).

The film, released in 1921 in Berlin and three years later in the U.S., may not be as well known as his other, more stature works, particularly Metropolis (1927) and M (1931).

Yet, Destiny has steadily found its following over the decades -- be it through film screenings, recordings or Lang himself as arguably one of the most important directors to shape the history of cinema.

In fact, the film has been hailed the stepping stone for Lang's constant and apt use of expressionistic visual elements, something which he will be eternally remembered for.

The "master of darkness", as he is widely known, inspired other master directors, including Luis Bu*uel, Ingmar Bergman (of The Seventh Seal fame) and Alfred Hitchcock, who named Destiny as his favorite film.

Born Friedrich Christian Anton Lang on Dec. 5, 1890, to a Jewish mother and a Catholic father, the Austrian became Fritz Lang. His pre-adolescent life was filled with events that defined his artistic view; in his teen years, he became very ill and hallucinated that he was dead.

In the World Film Directors reference book, he described this event: "I saw myself face to face, not terrifying, but unmistakable, with death ... I don't know whether I should call the feeling I experienced at that moment one of fear. It was horror, but not panic. I recovered quickly, but the love of death, compounded of horror and affection... stayed with me and became a part of my films."

His encounters with "death" continued during his years in the army in WWI, where he lost the use of his right eye.

The desire to escape the grim atmosphere of war pushed him to seek other outlets to express his thoughts, which eventually saw him act in and writs silent films.

It was not until Der M*de Tod that he became the talk of the international film scene.

Based on his personal experiences, the film symbolized Lang's continuous affair with the idea of death.

A young couple (Lil Dagover and Walter Janssen) stop at a small village inn to rest. When the woman goes out for a while, her fianc* vanishes; this incident takes the woman on an other-worldly journey to rescue him from the captive of Death (Bernhard Goetzke).

Death agrees to let him go, on the condition that the woman will save one of three lives in three different places.

Her agreement brings her and the film to three separate stories set against the exotic locations of Persia, Venice and imperial China; all of which will determine the lives of the two lovebirds.

Modern filmgoers may recall the exact storytelling method used in Tom Tykwer's high-octane semi-thriller Run Lola Run (1998), in which a heroine is given three attempts to save her boyfriend.

Unfortunately, none of the three locations will host the tribute to this 85-year-old film. Instead, it is Vietnam, and the country's 24-piece National Academy of Music orchestra, that will provide sound for the film, under the musical direction of Munich-based composer Pierre Oser.

Oser is no stranger to such a concept, having composed and performed numerous world-wide performances for silent films.

His time at the Munich Jazz School, followed by classical piano studies at the Richard Strauss Conservatory in the same city, has allowed him the chance to expand his musical territory to include contemporary stage, radio and television productions.

An accompanying note from the Goethe-Institut Hanoi reads; "conceived as a combination of live orchestral music and pre-recorded sound segments .. the live sound of the musicians will be subtly supported by recordings of the same and complimentary instruments, creating the effect of a large orchestra.

"This silent film concert is predestined for a live performance of this kind, relating directly to the characteristic sound experiences of the cinema while at the same time offering a genuine and powerful concert experience."

I-BOX:

Fritz Lang's Destiny, featuring Philip Oser and the Vietnam National Academy of Music orchestra will be staged at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta on May 14-15, Taman Budaya Bandung on May 17 and Taman Budaya Yogyakarta on May 21.

For further information, contact Goethe-Institut Jakarta on 021-23550208 or at kultur@jakarta.goethe.org

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