Into the Forest…

Eureka’s stunning new Blu-Ray set

A quote from somebody online caught my attention last year and helped to remould my mindset a little. I’m paraphrasing but it was along the lines of “Why would you restrict yourself by not watching a world of cinema?”

It’s an extremely valid point. As a younger man, the idea of watching a film with subtitles would have thrown me completely. If I’d carried that philosophy through to adulthood I would never have seen “The Happiness of the Katakuris”, “Tetsuo”, “The Coffee Table” or “The Ghost Galleon”. All films that I would classify as completely different to anything western cinema has, by and large, produced. This attempt to explore new cinematic horizons has seen me through myself into more Italian, Japanese, Thai and French cinema but one huge blind spot has been German cinema.

Cue Eureka Entertainment announcing the release of “Into The Forest: Folktales at DEFA”: a 5 film boxset exploring East German “Märchenfilme”, or adaptations of popular fairy and folktales. As some of you may know, I am a huge fan of “gateway” horrors. Films, TV shows or books that guided Young James into becoming the horror hound of today. This collection seemed to hit so many big points for me that I hit the pre order button without any knowledge or prior experience based on the description and the stunning artwork.

Last night I watched the first of these films “The Devil from Mill Mountain” and it was unlike the majority of films I’ve seen before. Whilst it was hard to fully research the story, it seems to be a folk tale attributed to a wide variety of sources rather than being a Brothers Grimm-esque tale. The essential premise though, is that a greedy and awful miller, burns a rival forest mill down seeking to monopolise the flour trade for himself. Assisted by the castle steward and the mayor, these 3 repulsive characters lead a mob wearing devil masks and torch the idyllic mill during a stormy night.

As you can imagine and I’m sure this will be no spoiler, but these 3 men receive their fairytale comeuppance later in the film, through the intervention of our two main “rebel” leads: Anne and Jörg. These two characters are blessed by the “good charcoal burners” who turn up with impeccable timing, when situations seem bleak, to prescribe a message of unity and socialism to beat the oppressive and greedy miller.

The historical and geographical context of the film is so important in understanding it but even aside from the heavily socialist messaging, the film is absolutely gorgeous. We open on a shot of a fully practical set windmill, instantly reminiscent of “The Old Mill” the Disney short from 1937. It’s gorgeous and completely immerses you in the folklore world. Dreamlike sets complete with stop motion birds, real owls, huge cobwebs and archetypal Germanic trees had me hook, line and sinker. Throw in the real horses and carts and it felt like I was on the set myself.

We get further fairytale-esque tropes immediately like the orphan Anne living with a cruel woman, the forbidden love between Anne and Jörg and the woodland mill. It’s instantly recognisable but also so far removed from anything most viewers will have seen before. It drips in atmosphere and feels real. Coupled with the beautiful restoration, it’s hard to believe this was made in 1955.

Another huge difference is the scarcity of a score, in moments you would expect there to be one. It gives proceedings an unsettling feel as well as amplifying tense moments. We also witness the Festival of Birdsong, providing an incredibly uncanny and otherworldly tingle. Think of the “Festival of Fools” from “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” in the woods.

The uncanny and unsettling imagery though, is on display best in the opening 10 minutes when the trio of rogues make their attack on the mill. Wearing their Devil masks and lit by flames, it’s a genuinely scary opening. There’s a reprise of the masks later in the film where the castle steward dances on a table wearing his mask and it truly did put me on edge.

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention the performances of Willy A. Kleinau and Eva Kotthaus as the Miller and Anne respectively. Kleinau really plays his villainous role expertly portraying the miller as a greedy, obnoxious, repulsive drunkard. You are counting down the seconds to his downfall from minute one. Kotthaus gives a far more restrained performance but the stoic, considered and clever actions of her character are sold perfectly. It was really refreshing to see a strong female lead in a fairytale adaptation but I did feel that the character tapered towards the end, narratively.

So this film has absolutely whet my appetite for more from this DEFA boxset and I can’t recommend it enough to anyone who may have interest in it. There are more familiar fairytales such as “Rumpelstiltskin” (although I don’t think he’ll drive a motorcycle in this one) and “Little Red Riding Hood” bookended by two further unfamiliar tales to this writer in “The Singing Ringing Tree” and “The Devils Three Golden Hairs”.