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Das Blaue Licht * Leni Riefenstahl (1932)

In a remote village in the Swiss mountains, the full moon brings a mysterious effect: a nearby mountain glows with a blue light (from the title). The light hypnotises the men of the village and often a young men will sleepwalkingly walk towards the light, later to be found dead. Near the village lives the wild and bewildering shepherd girl Junta (played by Riefenstahl herself). The villagers connect Junta to the light and hence the death of their young men. Therefor she may be a frequent visitor to the village, she is not a welcome one. One young man goes to find Junta, accidentally finds the source of the blue light and raises greed and destruction in the hearts and minds of the villagers.
“Das Blaue Licht” is semi silent. Apparently by 1932 directors found a way to dub voices, but only where needed and other sounds are not yet dubbed, so you mostly only hear background music. Riefenstahl had an photographer’s eye and comes with beautifull images and she used the possibilies of her time well to add to the effect of high and dangerous climbs in the mountains and mysterious light. The film looks well and is nicely moving. A classic.

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