Of the thirteen hundred or so films produced during the Third Reich a small percentage were overtly propogandist but because of the perfectly understandable revulsion towards the Nazi regime, even the films which were designed to provide escapist entertainment for German audiences have been tarred with the same brush. They might now be considered in the historical sense but their aesthetic qualities have been overlooked.
Such is the case with demonised director Veidt Harlan who will forever be associated with the notorious 'Jud Suss' whilst his intensely lyrical films in colour are destined to be appreciated by a few cinéphiles.
The release of 'Opfergang' which Harlan and Alfred Braun adapted from the novella by George Binding, was delayed by a couple of years owing to the shortage of colour film stock by which time its themes of sacrifice and death could not fail to strike a chord with audiences.
Bruno Mondi is again behind the camera and the Agfacolor is stunning although somewhat faded. It is sorely in need of restoration but that is high unlikely. The script is literate and intelligent and Hans-Otto Borgmann again provides a sumptuous score.
The three leading players in this Cocteauesque romance are all out of the top draw. The far from traditional leading man is the excellent Carl Raddatz whilst the two women in his life are played by Harlan's wife Kristina Soederbaum, an artiste of extreme sensibility who never fails to tug at the heartstrings and the aristocratic, archetypal Aryan Irene von Meyendorff who had the distinction of being number one pin-up for the German army. Each of these characters in their own way makes the 'sacrifice' of the title. Some might interpret the feelings of Octavia for Als as being somewhat Sapphic but that is down to the individual viewer.
One astute critic has suggested that the scene featuring the 'available' females wearing masks might have influenced Stanley Kubrick when making 'Eyes wide shut', Sounds plausible to me especially as Kubrick was married to Harlan's niece!
As well as 'Opfergang', two other gems by this director from the early forties are 'Die Goldene Stadt' and 'Immensee' which together with Helmut Kautner's masterpiece 'Romanze in Moll' from 1943, should be all the more appreciated and revered for having emerged from such terrible times.
