

Albert Renger-Patzsch's Hochofenwerk Herrenwyk, Lübeck (1928)







August Sander's The Architect Hans Heinz Luttgen and his Wife Dora (1926)



Hans Finsler's Der Sternenhimmel der Zukunft (1932)



Still from Die Büchse der Pandora



Still from Tagebuch einer Verlorenen



Georg Wilhelm Pabst at work



Still from Die Verrufenen



Still from Die Unehelichen

Der Schatz in its entirety with German intertitles and Portuguese subtitles



*****

's interwarmay've existed amidst political chaos but it was an incredibly fertile time for the arts., although it first developed around 1900, only flowered on the screen during the interwar period. Emergingenjoyed the themes ofand's. Less well-remembered today was the, an movements whose chief practitioner in film was, whose debut film,(The Treasure - 1923), opened in theaters on today (26 February) in 1923.German Expressionism, the best known cinematic expression of the culture and era, first arose inandbut ultimately made its way to the screen, exemplified by excellent and still widely-enjoyed films like(The Student of Prague),(The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari),(The Golem),(Destiny),(Nosferatu),(Warning Shadows), and(The Last Laugh). The Mountain Movies, or, are generally viewed less seriously as art and are undoubtedly interesting to modern audiences primarily for their fascist themes and frequent involvement ofThe New Objectivity, or, arose as a response to both the old objectivity (which is apparently how they viewdas well as the febrile chaos of Expressionism. The movement was influenced by the contemporaneousbut its practitioners attempted to approach their subjects with cold, deliberate, and sober detachment where the Surrealists attempted to be automatic, unconscious, and random. The New Objectivity developed at roughly the same time on the page, canvas, and screen – in the late-- although most of its adherents were painters or photographers. The movement was given its name in 1923 by art critic and historian (and then-director of thefor an exhibit,(Post-Expressionist Art).Painters closely associated with the movement include, andPhotographers associated with the movement include, and. Grosz described the movement, or at least his aim, as removing the supernaturalandand allowing viewers to see unfiltered reality. Despite their aims and claims of objectivity, the focus on the ugly, and harsh side of life was almost always calculatedly grotesque and exaggerated, especially evident in the paintings and films of the scene.directorwas born into a railway worker. Duringhe was interned near. After working in the theater he began making films, first with Der Schatz. Many of Pabst's films were concerned with the role of women in society and took – as a New Objectivist – an accordingly grim view. Some of his best known films are(The Joyless Street - 1925),(Secrets of a Soul - 1926),(The Loves of Jeanne Ney - 1927),(Pandora's Box - 1929), and(Diary of a Lost Girl – 1929). The latter two films starred the always excellent. Pabst continued making films until 1956's(Through the Forest and Through the Trees) and died in, aged 81, in 1967.Other filmmakers associated with New Objectivity include, and. Some of the principals of the New Objectivity would be employed. Later filmmakers in whose work I detect the movement's influence include, the documentarians of theandmovements, and perhaps contemporary cinematic sadists likeand hiskin.Films available from New Objectivist filmmakers (but not necessarily in that style – which ended around 1932) on, orinclude(The Treasure – 1923),(The Joyless Street – 1925),(Slums of Berlin – 1925),– 1926),(Secrets of a Soul 1926),(The Loves of Jeanne Ney – 1927),(The Devious Path – 1928),(The Threepenny Opera – 1928),(Pandora's Box – 1929),(Diary of a Lost Girl – 1929),(White Hell of Pitz Palu - 1929),(1930),(Westfront 1918 – 1930),(Emile and the Detectives – 1931),(The Mistress of Atlantis - 932),- 1933),(1934),(1935),(1936),(The Shanghai Drama – 1938),(1943),(1946),(The Voice of Silence – 1953),(Jackboot Mutiny – 1955), and(The Last 10 Days - 1955).