The transition between youth and old age is a small lapse of time within the film culminated and reflected upon in the last scene of the film. In the end Marit realizes this and accepts that in a way she has lost her whole life, living one that she didn’t want to, Depicted are events that transform a good and hopeful young woman in a selfish and vindictive old woman. The human portrait of Marit is certainly outstanding and, is well transmitted by the two actresses that perform the character within the different times of main character’s life. It’s a terrible deception and that hate that even will transmit to her own sons.
Certainly Herr Breistein captures its beauty and romantic scent with an inflexion point in the film that accelerates the pace in a dramatic way.īecause Marit waited for years for the return of her fiancée and then realized that her waiting was in vain, the previous timid, innocent and young fraulein grows into an embittered, resented old woman ( Frau Gunhild Schytte Jacobsen ) who never will forget the betrayal Anders did to her. In this part of the movie, nature is especially used as a decisive character that emphasizes the difficult social conditions and the social class differences in the fjord.īut nature has its more aesthetic part in the film as can be seen especially during the bridal voyage down the Hardanger fjord and its beautiful and evocative scene inspired by one of the most well-known paintings in Norwegian art history. These situations together with her sad feelings, don’t change until she finally decides to marry Tore ( Herr Vilhelm Lund ) a rich farmer who always loved her in (spite her indifference) and it’s a last chance for Marit, certainly. After the shock of her fiancée’s marriage she is forced to take a post with an old cotter up in the mountains. The hard conditions in the fjord are suffered by our heroine when she applies for a post with the county judge for a job in where she is treated harshly by the judge’s wife. Nature becomes a relevant and even cruel master that has no mercy with the people who live in the surrounding areas. It’s a land, however, that is incapable of giving enough resources to the population and they begin searching for a better life out of the country. From the very start of the film, we view the beautiful landscapes of the Hardanger fjord which witnessed a social tragedy, the massive emigration of the inhabitants of the little town to America who flee from a beautiful but impoverished land. In “Brudeferden I Hardanger”, nature is in the background but, at the same time, is a fundamental character that is used by Herr Breistein very wisely. “Brudeferden I Hardanger” has remarkable aspects that made this film a very special one with peculiarities connected with the surroundings that decisively influence the lives of the main characters of the film.Īs in many Nordic films, nature is always a very powerful and important film character in the story and plays a prominent role in accordingly developing the film narrative that the director needed or wanted depending on his own personal artistic interests. But the fact is that never will happen because after four years of Marit having no news or letter from Anders, finally she discovered that he’s to marry a wealthy fraulein in the church of their little town. The latter promised Marit to marry her when he was returning from a two year absence from their little town.
The film depicts a truncated love story through the whole life of the youngster fraulein Marit Skjolte ( Frau Aase Bye ) who is in love with Anders ( Herr Henry Gleditsch ). It’s a wonderful silent film that must be discovered and enjoyed by any silent film fan around the world. The first picture of this exclusive aristocratic film programme was “Brudeferden I Hardanger” ( The Bridal Party In Hardanger ) directed by Herr Rasmus Breistein in the silent year of 1926. This is a great error that thanks to modernen times, new formats, new distribution and broadcasting channels is being corrected thus finally making available for silent film fans these excellent oeuvres. That’s generally due to whimsy film distribution policies or few public exhibitions of these films in theatres. ( Other and more decadent ones were continued merrily during the staying of this Herr Von in the Austrian capital city.)Īnd what better way to start another silent year than discovering unknown Nordic silent films? With some exceptions, many film productions of those cold European countries are not well known to silent connoisseurs. After the impasse of the Viennese intermission, this Herr Graf resumes his aristocratic activities in regards to the silent screenings at the Schloss theatre.