David (1979 film)

David (1979 film)
David
Directed by Peter Lilienthal
Produced by Joachim von Vietinghoff
Written by Jurek Becker
Peter Lilienthal
Joel Koenig (novel)
Starring Walter Taub
Irene Vrkijan
Eva Mattes
Mario Fischel
Music by Wojciech Kilar
Cinematography Al Ruban
Editing by Siegrun Jaeger
Distributed by Kino International (USA)
Release date(s) February 1978 (1978-02) (BIFF)
Running time 125 minutes
Country West Germany
Language German

David is a 1979 West German film by director Peter Lilienthal. It tells the story of a rabbi's son in Germany during the Holocaust, who tries to raise money to escape to Mandate Palestine.

Contents

Summary

David follows an adolescent Jewish boy, David Singer, who comes of age in Nazi Berlin. The film reveals the struggles for identity and survival that often overlapped among the Jews of war-torn Europe, particularly the young.

“Father says we must be proud of being Jewish, especially now,” David tells his brother Leo, who tries to camouflage his Jewish identity by wearing a Nazi uniform. But the yellow star that David and his fellow Jews are forced to wear is not a mark of Jewish pride. When Jews’ essential identity became a death sentence in Nazi Germany, its value was called into question for so many Jews who endured the Holocaust.

The film reveals the unfolding and progression of the war against the Jews in Germany, as seen from the limited perspective of one young boy. As he navigates through dangerous streets and railway cars, we observe with him the effects of Hitler’s policies on daily life in Berlin and on relations between Jews and non-Jews. Together with David, we witness the gradual but steady removal of the city’s Jews.

The film opens in pre-War Germany, depicting the young protagonist’s experience of the rampant anti-Semitism that would soon grow into the Holocaust. In the first scene, young David is harassed by a group of German schoolchildren who beat him and taunt him with the words “Jew pig.” Later, a communal celebration of Purim — the Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jews of ancient Persia from extermination — foreshadows the impending war. David’s father, the congregation rabbi, delivers a sermon that describes the attempted annihilation of the Purim story, a grim portent of what is to come. But the scene is a case of dramatic irony: Rabbi Singer is not aware of, or does not want to acknowledge, the relevance of his own words to the situation in early Nazi Germany. When, in the middle of the celebration, a group of Germans march by the synagogue chanting “Jews get out, Jews get out,” he insists that they are in fact only calling out to the city’s youth, that their chant is actually: “Youth come out, youth come out.”

The film is particularly compelling in its depiction of the intimate space of the Singer family and their interactions with one another — marked by love, devotion and the all-too-real fear of imminent loss and separation. When the rabbi is forced to watch his synagogue set aflame by the Nazis, and returns home with a swastika emblazoned on his head, he insists that the important thing is that the family is alive and together.

Awards

In 1979 David won three awards at the 29th Berlin International Film Festival:[1]

  • Golden Bear - Peter Lilienthal
  • Interfilm Award - Peter Lilienthal
  • OCIC Award - Peter Lilenthal

The same year, David won two awards at the German Film Awards:

  • Outstanding Individual Achievement- Walter Taub
  • Outstanding Feature Film- David

Cast

  • Mario Fischel ... David Singer
  • Walter Taub ... Rabbi Singer
  • Irena Vrkljan ... Frau Singer - David's Mother
  • Eva Mattes ... Toni
  • Dominique Horwitz ... Leo Singer
  • Torsten Henties ... David as child
  • Gustav Rudolf Sellner ... Dr. Grell (as Rudolph Sellner)
  • Erik Jelde (as Eric Jelde)
  • Nikolaus Dutsch ... Kohn
  • Sabine Andreas ... Rifka
  • Buddy Elias
  • Golda Tencer
  • Vladimir Weigl (as Vladimir Weigel)
  • Hanns Zischler (as Johann Zischler)

Reception

David was praised for its recreation of war-time Germany and its tendency towards understatement. The horrors of the Holocaust speak for themselves, not requiring overzealous emotionality from the actors or direction.[2]

See also

Notes

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • David (1988 film) — David Directed by John Erman Produced by Donald March Written by Stephanie Liss Novel Marie Rothenberg Mel White Starring …   Wikipedia

  • David Livingstone (film) — For the 1925 film, see Livingstone (film). David Livingstone is a 1936 British historical adventure film directed by James A. FitzPatrick and starring Percy Marmont, Marian Spencer, James Carew, Hugh McDermott and Pamela Stanley. It portrays the… …   Wikipedia

  • David (1979) — Filmdaten Originaltitel David Produktionsland Deutschland …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Fast Company (1979 film) — Infobox Film name = Fast Company caption = Theatrical Poster director = David Cronenberg producer = Michael Lebowitz Peter O Brian Phil Savath Courtney Smith writer = Story: Alan Treen Screenplay: David Cronenberg Phil Savath Courtney Smith… …   Wikipedia

  • The Promise (1979 film) — The Promise is a 1979 film, released by was a Universal Pictures, which starred Kathleen Quinlan, Stephen Collins, and Beatrice Straight. It was directed by Gilbert Cates and produced by Fred Weintraub and Paul Heller. The screenplay was written… …   Wikipedia

  • Laura (1979 film) — Infobox Film name = Laura image size = caption = DVD cover director = David Hamilton producer = Serge Laski Malcolm J. Thomson writer = David Hamilton Joe Morhaim André Szots narrator = starring = Maud Adams Dawn Dunlap music = Patrick Juvet… …   Wikipedia

  • David (disambiguation) — King David (c. 1011 – 971 BC) was the second king of the United Kingdom of Israel and a major figure in the Bible and the Qur an. David may also refer to: David (name), a common given name People: Saint David, the patron saint of Wales David of… …   Wikipedia

  • David Cronenberg — at Cannes, 2002 Born David Paul Cronenberg March 15, 1943 (1943 03 15) (age 68) …   Wikipedia

  • David Niven — (1973) James David Graham Niven (* 1. März 1910 in London, England; † 29. Juli 1983 in Château d’Œx, Schweiz) war ein britischer Schauspieler …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • David Harris (actor) — David Harris Harris at the Big Apple Summer Sizzler in Manhattan, June 13, 2009. Born 23 May 1959 (1959 05 23) (age 52) …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”