Cambridge Forecast Group Blog

TWO CONTEMPORARY FILMS ON OMINOUS EUROPEAN ATMOSPHERE IN THE THIRTIES: “GRIPSHOLM” AND “GLOOMY SUNDAY”

Gripsholm (2002)

Kurt Tucholsky was a German Jewish writer who boldly criticized the Nazis during their rise to power. He also wrote racy songs that were performed in cabarets. Tucholsky was eventually accused of treason and forced to flee his homeland for …    Switzerland.

GRIPSHOLM, directed by Xavier Koller (JOURNEY OF HOPE), cunningly combines plot elements from Tucholsky’s semi-autobiographical novel, CASTLE GRIPSHOLM, with events from the author’s real life. Kurt (Ulrich Noethen) and his girlfriend, Lydia (Heike Makatsch), leave Berlin in 1932 for a summer idyll at a friend’s castle in the Swiss Alps. They are joined by Kurt’s friend, Karl (Marcus Thomas), whose blind patriotism will soon cause a rift in their friendship, and Lydia’s friend, Billie (Jasmin Tabatabai), a vivacious cabaret singer whose growing fame calls her back to Berlin. The couple is also drawn into the predicament of a little girl (Sara Foettinger) who is being mistreated by the strict matron at a nearby boarding school. Koller, screenwriter Stefan Kolditz, and cinematographer Pio Corradi successfully create an atmosphere of growing dread in a beautifully serene location. The cast does admirable work. GRIPSHOLM is a subtle film that increases its hold on the viewer as the powerful story takes hold.

Original Production Year: 2000.

This is the only Sara Fottinger video. Stars also making their debut in this video: Leif Liljeroth, Jasmin Tabatabai.

Gloomy Sunday

Gloomy Sunday, winner of major German film awards and an art-house favorite that ran 70 weeks in Boston, hits all the right notes with its poignant, glowingly shot tale set in Budapest during the Holocaust and, like Schindler’s List and The Pianist, filled with the passion and pain of that tragic era. The song itself recorded by Billie Holliday and other greats is the stuff of legend, reportedly having a fateful real-life impact similar to that shown on screen. But it’s love’s power that is ultimately at the heart of this acclaimed film. And from the opening scene to the deft twist ending, that power is extraordinary. Stars Stefano Dionisi, Joachim Krol, Ben Becker, Erika Marozsan

Set in pre-World War II Budapest, GLOOMY SUNDAY is a romantic melodrama that evokes the haunting melody of the same name, fabled to have caused over one hundred suicides in the 1930s. Before the dark days of the war, Laszlo (Joachim Krol), a Jewish restaurant owner, enjoys a successful business while happily living with his lover and the restaurant’s sultry hostess, Ilona (Erika Marozsan). When they decide to hire a restaurant pianist they meet Andras (Stefano Dionisi), a brooding composer who quickly captures the heart of Ilona. However, her love for Andras does not diminish her feelings for Laszlo and the trio embark on an agreed-upon ménage-à-trois that seems to be successful, at least on the surface. Andras’s passionate love for Ilona inspires him to write “Gloomy Sunday” which becomes an overnight sensation and the restaurant’s signature song. Ilona’s beauty captures the heart of a third suitor, Hans Wieck (Ben Becker), a German customer who becomes a corrupt SS officer after the Nazi occupation of Hungary. Hans’ friendship is a strategic necessity as the trio struggles to keep the restaurant open and Laszlo free from persecution while the threat of war looms.

Theatrical Release: NOVEMBER 7, 2003

Gloomy Sunday Reviews:

“…A beautiful period piece, set against one of the world’s glorious cities, adding poignancy. Twists and turns heighten a gradually accruing effect, building to a risky moment of truth, a coup de theatre that is as daring as it is satisfying…”– Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times