Peter Munk is very poor and has given up all hope of marrying his beloved Lisbeth. Despite asking the good spirit of the forest for assistance, he squanders his wealth and loses everything. Turning to the forest’s dark spirit to gain it all back, Peter agrees to exchange his heart for a cold stone.

Made between Iron Curtain division and reunification, this early märchenfilme from East German filmmaker Paul Verhoeven reinvigorates old folklore to reflect the ideology and politics of its time. A faithful, fascinating live-action adaptation of Wilhelm Hauff’s classic fairytale.