2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #52: Germany (Fährmann Maria) vs. South Korea (Castaway On The Moon)
i hope that swastika won’t sway our judgement as i don’t think it’s fair to the film to use politics or crimes by the government or people of the country where it was produced against it. this is a mere accident of fortune
Thanks for posting this. Yes, if the film is good I would assume it would be all the more credit to it to have done so in such a repressive regime for film.
I loved both films. I’m going to let them sink in for a few days, then vote.
Germany (Fährmann Maria) 0 – South Korea (Castaway On The Moon) 1
Two romantic fables, one set in the 19th Century, one firmly in the 21st. Both about implausible relationships between two strangers, where the love has a transforming effect. Impossible to compare these two films, from two completely different periods and film sensibilities, but they are strangely similar in some ways in mood and tone.
Interesting to see a film from the Nazi period that seems to have no overt propaganda overtones. Fährmann Maria is a Grimm-like allegory, that relies on its highly-stylized atmosphere to carry it. Death is the imposing figure in this film, seen as a stern character in black, with wind whistling right on cue at his appearance. To get her heart’s new-found desire, the desparate character of Maria must outwit Death in the maze-like moors. Nice take on the legend of the ferryman, with the itinerant fiddler providng some comic relief..
Castaway on the Moon was a modern-day take on the Robinson Crusoe story, where this Robinson Crusoe can clearly see the looming city just before him. Uses the message in a bottle and writing in the sand themes to good effect to provide us an ironic take on how old ways of communication are more effective than those on the computer, Shows how a modern-day man can re-discover himself through the simplest of means – after he loses his modern identity.
Like some other S. Korean films of the 2000’s that I’ve seen, it focused on a suicide attempt and used a gentle humor to underlie the inherent despair of its characters. Clever use of the moon motif and some imaginative use of imagery – like the duck boat and robots. Good line re how as things evolve, they get more tasty. Nice use of noodle soup as a metaphor, too, reminding me of Tampopo. Well-filmed and well-acted.
Germany (Fährmann Maria) 1 – South Korea (Castaway On The Moon) 0
“Castaway on the Moon” is an enjoyable film. A short story stretched to a 2-hours-length with clever (incredible too) story twists and amusing gags. Not so successful from a dramatic point of view.
“Fährmann Maria” is the triumph of atmosphere over detail. Shot in the style of early silent films with very little dialogue and ponderous pacing, this mystical account of love and death was one of the best German films in the fantastic genre, worthy heir to Lang’s Destiny (starring the Death) and Dreyer’s Vampyr (starring Sybille “Ferrywoman Maria” Schmitz). Add dramatic precision, visual coherence, lyricism and poetic imagery and you get a unique film.
Third Reich 1933-1945 by Kolar
Even under Goebbels’ personal control (from 1934 on) you can find lots of great films from the (diregarded) Nazi period without a trace of propaganda. Works directed by Wisbar, Sirk, Von Baky, Pabst, Harlan and, above all, Käutner are among my favorite movies ever. Hope you catch some of them.
Germany (Fährmann Maria) 1 – South Korea (Castaway On The Moon) 0
germany (fährmann maria) 1 – south korea (castaway on the moon) 0
enjoyed both the films but castaway was a little too quirky/cute for me. besides i love fantastical old movies
Germany (Fährmann Maria) 1 – South Korea (Castaway on the Moon) 0
Fahrmann Maria and Death, personified, are more unforgettable as characters than the couple in Castaway on the Moon. Also, the aesthetic black and white photography and the mythic narrative structure of Fahrmann Maria conjure the timeless quality that I look for in a masterpiece.
The Castaway on the Moon is not only funny and endearing but surprising in that the island is so close to the city, yet remote in the sense that the main character cannot swim (which is a metaphor for the fact that he is like fish out of water.) It has a very contemporary feel to it that I liked.
VOTING IS CLOSED
Final tally:
Germany (Fährmann Maria) – 4
South Korea (Castaway On The Moon) – 1
The winner is:
GERMANY!
Unity and justice and freedom
For the German fatherland!
For these let us all strive
Brotherly with heart and hand!
Unity and justice and freedom
Are the pledge of fortune;
|: Flourish in this fortune’s blessing,
Flourish, German fatherland! :|
Nice match with two fables of love, two banks and two couples of “castaways”.
Fährmann Maria has a unique atmosphere where light, darkness and nature definitely add a lot the sacrife story. Maria’s devotion and faith is put to test in her incounter with Death. The latter, as a character that like to play games in many stories and legends, is genuinely distracted and defeated by this woman.
Castaway on the Moon had a delicate work on objects and details of the material everyday life, that (like in many Robinson Crusoe’s adaptations) are potentiated and even re-discovered. Making all the process by himself to cook a “simple” noodles dish, this character faces a new and unknown world for most contemporary people.
ruby stevens
This topic is part of the 2012 MUBI World Cup. If you have not already done so, please read the first post at the topic for an introduction to and rules about this year’s World Cup:
Germany (Nazi Germany)
Original title: Fährmann Maria
Directed by: Frank Wisbar
Approximate runtime: 85 min
Submitted by: Angel
South Korea
Original title: Kimssi pyoryugi
Directed by: Lee Hae-jun
Approximate runtime: 116 min
Submitted by: Emery Snyder
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The purpose of this topic is to cast votes in the matchup listed above and also to be a forum for discussing the films in the match.
Anyone who has seen both of the films listed above may vote in this match. You must vote for whichever of the two films you personally like better. In order to vote you must post a reply to this topic containing one of the following sequences:
If you are voting for Fährmann Maria: “Germany (Fährmann Maria) 1 – South Korea (Castaway On The Moon) 0”
If you are voting for Castaway On The Moon: “Germany (Fährmann Maria) 0 – South Korea (Castaway On The Moon) 1”
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