DVD Review: Unter den Brücken (Under the Bridges)

In the spirit of Glenn Kenny's Foreign Region DVD Report (which just moved to the Auteur's Notebook), here's a post about a movie that's not currently available in U.S. format -- Helmut Käutner's lovely Unter den Brücken (Under the Bridges). I picked up the DVD after this year's Berlinale, where I had seen director Christian Petzold (Yella) praise it as one of his favorites in the documentary Auge in Auge.

Shot in the final months of World War II, Unter den Brücken feels like a movie out of time. If no one told you, there'd be no way of knowing that Allied forces were already occupying Aachen and flying nightly raids over Berlin, that the Red Army was advancing through Eastern Prussia. In the relaxed world of Unter den Brücken, there's no war and no Final Solution, just a Havel barge named Liselotte and its joint owners, Hendrik (Carl Raddatz) and Willy (Gustav Knuth). Tired of the lonely river life, the two bargees both fall for the same displaced Schlesian girl trying to make a living in Berlin, given wonderful life by Hannelore Schrott. The worst danger these characters face is heartbreak.

Marcel Carné and Jean Vigo are frequently cited as influences on Käutner's poetic touch, and rightfully so. Unter den Brücken sparkles with loveable throwaway gestures, richly textured cinematography, and sound design that's so evocative that Käutner dedicates an entire scene to the plop of frogs in the water, the crunch of rope against the hull, and the wind in the reeds. The film's good-natured spirit never leaves it even during the saddest third-act reversals, and the big-hearted resolution suggests a stubborn capacity for peace and hope in the face of the global conflagration raging just out of sight.

Unter den Brücken wasn't released in Germany until 1950. The DVD transfer, by Transit, isn't flawless but very watchable. Because the future diva had her first, tiny role in Unter den Brücken, the disc's one notable bonus feature is an hour-long documentary about Hildegard Knef's early years. The film comes with English subtitles. You can order Unter den Brücken as region 2 PAL DVD here. A few related links in German: Filmportal, Wikipedia, Filmzentrale, Screenshot, Amazon.de. **** [posted by Jürgen]