Cinema
The Great Sacrifice
Opfergang
Veit Harlan · 1944
Synopsis
Back in Hamburg after a three-year journey that took him as far as Japan, Albrecht Froben becomes engaged to his cousin Octavia. He makes the acquaintance of Aels Flodéen, a young Swedish woman staying in the neighbouring villa, and accompanies her on long rides on horseback; Aels falls in love with him, and Octavia lets this friendship develop. Albrecht marries Octavia and goes with her to live in Düsseldorf, but the thought of Aels never leaves him, while illness gradually confines the young woman to her bed.
Context
The film is based on the novella by Rudolf G. Binding published in 1912, reworked to suit the views of the regime; Harlan wrote the screenplay with Alfred Braun. Shot in Agfacolor from August 1942 to the summer of 1943, it was released only on 8 December 1944, in Hamburg and Berlin, and the shortage of film stock limited its distribution. The film carries no explicit Nazi message, which distinguishes it from other works by Harlan at the same time.
Who it is for
A film in Agfacolor of about an hour and a half, based on a short story, with no declared political message.
Prizes and reception
Digitally restored by the Murnau Foundation in 2016 and released on DVD the same year.