Tiefland

Leni Riefenstahl's Tiefland, based on the opera by Eugen d'Albert, was her last full-length, dramatic feature film. With initial work begun in 1934, shooting for the film would not take place until the war years, but it would still not be until 1954 before this beautiful film would finally be released.

Synopsis

The film opens at sunrise in the mountains, where we find the shepherd Pedro [Franz Eichberger] asleep in his cabin as his flock grazes quietly outside. Suddenly a wolf appears, the sheep are startled and as they run their bells ring, and Pedro wakes and is alerted by the sound. He finds the wolf attacking one of the lambs, and a fierce combat ensues between Pedro and the wolf, and the wolf is killed.

Far down the mountain, in the farmers' fields, ditches are being built to divert water away from them and instead use it for the greedy benefit of the marquis, Don Sebastian, so that he can water the bulls he uses for bullfighting. The farmers object because their lands are drying up, but their pleas go unheard.

In the main village, a gypsy wagon pulls in, and we are introduced to the dancer Marta [Leni Riefenstahl]. Pedro, too, has made his way down to the village as well with a few of his flock.

We then meet Doña Amelia [Maria Koppenhöfer], the mayor's daughter, tended to by her servants in her fancy home. She wishes to marry the marquis, Don Sebastian [Bernhard Minetti], but it becomes clear that he is badly in debt — however, Doña Amelia's wealth will appease his creditors after their marriage, and through that marriage she will obtain the social status that she desires. Up at the castle, Don Sebastian discusses his predicament with his lawyer, Camillo [Aribert Wäscher]. The marquis does not want to marry Doña Amelia, but there is no other way for him to pay off his debts.

Later, the marquis attends a fancy dinner with all the local prominent citizens, including the mayor [Karl Skraup] and his daughter. Doña Amelia is hopeful that the marquis will ask him to marry her, which he does, but it also becomes clear to her that he is only interested in her money. She storms off, and angrily vows to "have him on his knees" when he discovers who has taken over his debts.

Back down at the village, Pedro approaches the local tavern and peers in the window, where he sees Marta performing a dance for the patrons. As he observes from outside, the marquis arrives in his carriage. Pedro gives him the pelt of the wolf he has killed, and is rewarded by the marquis. Don Sebastian enters the tavern and watches Marta's dance, then demanding as he leaves that she come dance for him at the castle. Pedro makes his way back to his home in the mountains as well, and he, too, has become infatuated with the beautiful dancer at the tavern.

Marta arrives at the castle, mesemerized by splendourous surroundings she has never seen before. She privately shares some wine and conversation with the marquis, and then Marta dances for him as he plays his guitar for her — but suddenly he is overcome by lust, he drops the guitar, and carries her off in his arms.

Up in the mountains, Pedro's friend Nando [Luis Rainer] has come to visit him, and Pedro tells him of his love for Marta. Meanwhile, back at the castle, the marquis is declaring his own love to Marta, and asks her to be his bride. She is now happy for the moment, but she eventually learns of his cruelty and greed toward the peasant farmers and of their hatred of him. Marta tries to help the family of the miller, Natario [Max Holzboer], by secretly giving them a valuable necklace that the marquis had given her so that they can pay their rent to the marquis — but Natario with pride and anger has the necklace returned to the marquis. When Don Sebastian discovers what Marta has done, he grows violent toward her, and then has the miller and his wife thrown off their land. With this, Marta disappears, and a search party formed to find her. By chance, she finds refuge at Pedro's cabin in the mountains, but there she is found by the marquis' men and brought back to the castle.

In the meantime, Doña Amelia remains determined to marry the marquis, and without his or her father's knowledge she has cleared all of his debts. Her father, the mayor, goes to see the marquis demanding that his debts must be paid off or else the marquis will lose everything, but a compromise is reached between them only if the marquis agrees to finally marry Doña Amelia. Don Sebastian does not want to lose Marta, though, and so he and Camillo devise a plane whereby Marta will be married off to some "fool" from the village (who will receive the mill for his trouble), and the marquis will marry Doña Amelia for her money, but secretly he and Marta will both be able to be together. When he tells Marta of his plan, she resists and wants to be free of him, but he tells her that he would kill her before he would lose her again.

By a twist of fate, the man that the marquis chooses to be Marta's husband is Pedro, who is given both her hand in marriage as well as the mill as his "reward" for having saved her earlier. Naturally, this is the most wonderful news imaginable for Pedro! The day of her marriage, Marta is terribly distraught, though, and the marquis tells her that after her wedding, he will be coming to her that night. Marta and Pedro are married in a humble ceremony, at the same time that Don Sebastian and Doña Amelia are also married but with great celebration. At first Pedro is in a state of bliss with his new bride, but Marta wants nothing to do with him — until she finds out that he married her for love, and not simply because he received the mill. Then, as the villagers jeer at him from outside, Pedro learns that he has only been played the fool — and now he is in despair.

What will become of our sad lovers?
(Click for a pop-up window with the plot spoiler)

Image Galleries

• Titles/Credits for Tiefland
• For downloadable video clips, please see Leni Riefenstahl Video Downloads (Part Two: Leni Riefenstahl Produktion)

Historical Notes

• Forthcoming!

Analysis & Criticism (On-Site)

• A Mountain of a Ship: Locating the Bergfilm in James Cameron's Titanic — by Robert von Dassanowsky

Web Links

Below are selected external links (to other sites) with information and/or articles about this film. External links to information about other Leni Riefenstahl films can be found in the Web Links section on the main pages for each of those films, or for more general information please see the Selected Leni Riefenstahl Links section of this site.

• The Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
• Leni Riefenstahl: 1954 - TIEFLAND
  

  The original poster for the film.

• Tiefland Introduction
  

  An introduction to the original opera by Eugen D'Albert, on which the film was based.

• "Wherever you may run, you cannot escape him": Leni Riefenstahl's Self-Reflection and Romantic Transcendence of Nazism in Tiefland
  

  An exceptional analysis of Tiefland by Robert von Dassanowsky, which could be considered required reading for any serious student of Leni's films (in particular Tiefland, of course). Also available online is the abstract for von Dassanowsky's article on the correspondences between James Cameron's Titanic and Leni's Tiefland, entitled A Mountain of a Ship: Locating the Bergfilm in James Cameron's Titanic, published in Cinema Journal (issue 40.4, Summer 2001) with the full article available by subscription.

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