Made in the Nazi years -Frank Wisbar had to leave Germany the following year,this movie is weird beyond comment;influenced by Fritz Lang ("Der Müde Tod" ) and Carl Dreyer ("Vampyr"),it shows an anti -militarism which seems at odds with the national zeitgeist epitomized by the likes of Leni Riefenstahl's propaganda movies :"I've got no homeland" says the heroine ;the long scene when the man is delirious is a strong condemnation of war and war myths.And the ending takes love over everything ,a much more optimistic view than Lang's and Dreyer's.
The river was often a symbol in the old myths : it is some kind of Styx,the other side of the river seems ominous and evil ,the riders some kind of horsemen of the Apocalypse .A man plays dice with Death and loses ,a scene which might have inspired Bergman for a famous scene in "the seventh seal".
But most of all,this is a Christian movie ;the heroine prays Jesus and it's the Lord her only guide across the swamp .The ending is inspired by that of "Der Müde Tod" (1921)but the director leaves no doubt:unlike Lang's heroes ,they survive in the material world.The presence of the fiddle player on the boat bears this out.
The river was often a symbol in the old myths : it is some kind of Styx,the other side of the river seems ominous and evil ,the riders some kind of horsemen of the Apocalypse .A man plays dice with Death and loses ,a scene which might have inspired Bergman for a famous scene in "the seventh seal".
But most of all,this is a Christian movie ;the heroine prays Jesus and it's the Lord her only guide across the swamp .The ending is inspired by that of "Der Müde Tod" (1921)but the director leaves no doubt:unlike Lang's heroes ,they survive in the material world.The presence of the fiddle player on the boat bears this out.