"Der zerbrochene Krug" or "The Broken Jug" is a German movie from 1937 that is in black-and-white and has sound. This film is an example that there were in fact non-propaganda movies during the years of Nazi German. It will have its 80th anniversary next year and was directed by Gustav Ucicky. The writer who adapted Heinrich von Kleist's famous work is Thea von Harbou, who is otherwise mostly known for her collaborations with Fritz Lang on some real classics. The lead actor is Oscar winner Emil Janning, who also co-directed this film here and who is in basically every scene. I must say that I found it a really absurd watch and the reason may be that the people in here spoke so strangely. Obviously the reason is that they took exactly the quotes from Kleist's work and that's why it felt a bit of a bizarre watch during its slightly under 1.5 hours. Story-wise I also cannot say I was convinced. I believe this film is really only a good watch for people who loved the book and everybody else, especially those who have not read the book should not make the decision to watch this film. It just wasn't convincing or memorable, which is however not the actors' fault. It felt like watching a play for the most part. Thumbs down.
Review of The Broken Jug
