Downfall

Ludwig Wolff’s The Downfall, starring the renowned Asta Nielsen, traces the downfall of Kaja (Asta Nielsen) from famed cabaret singer to lower-class drudge and concomitantly laments the hardships of modern life on the New Woman. Kaja, the former cabaret singer, is chic, sensual, and self-indulgent. Kaja’s misfortunes spawn not from her own doing but rather that of her baggage, a man aptly titled the “Vampire”. Notably, the film is divided into two disparate settings: the quaint and isolated coast, and the modern, bustling city. Kaja takes to the coast in order to escape the Vampire for reasons unknown to the viewer; however, during her refuge there, Kaja discovers happiness when she meets Peter, a simple and caring fisherman. This happiness is significant in that only when removed from the bustle of city life – be it physically, during her exile, or mentally, while dreaming about Peter to escape the misery that is her quotidian life with the Vampire – is Kaja truly satisfied. Through the accidental death of Kaja’s host, subsequently earning a ten year jail sentence for Peter, and the threat Kaja poses to Peter’s marriage, Wolff charges that the sexual promiscuity of the New Woman threatens the fabric of society. Throughout the remainder of the film, Kaja never again attains the level of happiness she had while at the coast; rather, she suffers repeatedly, as the Vampire leeches from her everything she possesses. He destroys her relationship with Peter; he tries to extort her vocal talent to support his indolent and pitiful existence, but the pain his actions had already caused her robbed her of any previous singing capabilities; ultimately, he drags her to the lowest strata of life, forcing her to scrape a living by any means possible. The toll such agony and suffering takes on Kaja is evident by the extent to which Kaja ages during Peter’s incarceration – so much so that Peter fails to recognize her upon his release, and thus returns to his faithful wife. —Emery Coxe