Aglaja Schmid

This film essay explores the strange case of G.W. Pabst, the Austrian filmmaker who was considered a giant of early cinema before his reputation went behind a cloud.

Hongrie en 1882. Dans un village, Esther, une servante adolescente, disparaît. Personne ne sait qu'elle s'est enfuie parce que sa maîtresse la maltraite. La rumeur accuse bientôt les Juifs de sa disparition, qu'elle aurait été la victime d'un assassinat rituel. Un témoin affirme avoir vu Esther se réfugier chez le chef de la communauté juive, Peczely Scharf. C'était le jour de shabbat, où tout geste non religieux est interdit, or la fille chrétienne a pris un chandelier sur la table. Depuis, personne ne l'a revue.

A Tyrolean rifle regiment adopt a young baby girl they have rescued and she becomes the "Daughter of the Regiment". In 1811, as a full-grown woman she falls in love with one of the new recruits while the regiment battles French forces during the Napoleonic Wars.

Winnie is desperate and doesn't know what to do next. She is about to marry her lover Paul, who has returned from war captivity. Both want to emigrate to America short after marriage. But the young woman has an illegitimate one-and-a-half-year-old son, whom she has kept secret from her fiancé. The short-tempered Paul would never understand that. When she is on her way to the orphanage, the grumpy senior civil servant Hieronymus Spitz and his little dog Tobby get into her train compartment. After a short observation, Winnie is certain that the misantrope actually has a good heart, because he lovingly takes care of his dog. Without further ado she leaves little Niki with the tax accountant and disappears from the train. Only a note with a request remains. The overwhelmed old gentleman initially wants to get rid of the child, but then takes it home and takes care of it together with his housekeeper. Both take the bundle of joy to their hearts. But then everything turns out differently.

Katrina Mercier and her husband arrive in Canada's far north to run a trading post. Another trading post owner, Langrand, and police sergeant Spenlow, the only two civilized people in the area, fall in love with Katrina. They follow the husband and wife as they head further north for a chance that, until now, the husband has been reluctant to take. One day, Mercier catches his partner, an adventurer, trying to take advantage of Katrina; he kills him but is wounded. The couple and the two other whites attempt to return south, but Mercier dies of his wound along the way. Caught in a storm, the three survivors get lost; the dogs abandon them. Spenlow, realizing that Katrina loves Langrand, sacrifices himself to leave them his supplies; he is devoured by wolves. Langrand and Katrina are saved in extremis by a hunter.

Hongrie en 1882. Dans un village, Esther, une servante adolescente, disparaît. Personne ne sait qu'elle s'est enfuie parce que sa maîtresse la maltraite. La rumeur accuse bientôt les Juifs de sa disparition, qu'elle aurait été la victime d'un assassinat rituel. Un témoin affirme avoir vu Esther se réfugier chez le chef de la communauté juive, Peczely Scharf. C'était le jour de shabbat, où tout geste non religieux est interdit, or la fille chrétienne a pris un chandelier sur la table. Depuis, personne ne l'a revue.

The Berger couple want to enjoy their vacation in the mountains, a break that they both deserve. Because Maya suffers from strong emotional swings and feels constrained by the concerns of her husband, who is successful in the hospitality industry. Things don't improve during the holidays, and tensions between the two even escalate when Maya gets involved with a mountain guide. But even this brief affair ends in tragedy: the lover is struck by lightning on a tour and falls to his death.