Destiny, or Der müde Tod (1921)

The wall of Death's garden

Directed by Fritz Lang
Starring Bernhard Goetzke, Lil Dagover and Walter Janssen
Produced by Decla-Bioscop AG

Death has come to a small town for some real estate.  He's inquiring about the land next to the cemetery.  He's interested in planting a garden. After some deliberation, the town decided to sell to the stranger.  He surrounds his new garden with a 100 foot high wall with no visible way in.

A young, very-much-in-love couple comes to the town and eats at a local establishment.  The stranger sits at their table and watches them.  When the woman enters the kitchen for a moment.  When she returns, she finds that her fiance has left with the ominous man.

She runs to the garden, searching futilely for a way in.  Then, she sees the ghosts of the recently departed descending the hill toward the wall.  She sees her man.  The ghosts pass silently through the wall.

But the woman has a plan.  She creates her own near-death experience to gain access to the garden.  Death is surprised to see her as it is not her time.  She implores him to release her fiance as love is stronger than death.

The chamber of candles

Death is willing to negotiate.  See, he looks upon his job as a curse and if love truly could conquer death, he'd be free.  He leads the girl to a chamber of candles, each one representing a life.  When the flame dies, so does the person. 

He shows her three candles.  If her love can keep just one of the flames from being extinguished, she can have her love back.  Can she keep the candles lit?  And will Death honor his side of the bargain?

Destiny is a gorgeous film filled with big ideas about life and death and visuals to match.  Above is a description of the framing story, but there is a significant time spent with the lives of the people represented by the three candles.  Each of those individual tales is compelling, but my favorite was the third with its elements of magic and the supernatural.

The acting does what it needs to do.  The "stranger" played by Bernhard Goetzke provides the right balance of menace world-weariness.  The young couple (Lil Dagover and Walter Janssen) are very good in the framing story, but shine playing multiple roles in the three interior stories.

Gorgeous

But it's the visuals and story directed by Lang that make this film soar.  I love the wall surrounding Death's garden.  I love the chamber of candles.  I love the magic carpet and magic wand of the final tale.  A prison tower turning into an elephant with a cage on top?  Brilliant to watch.

My overall thoughts?  How has this not been remade?  It's gorgeous and full of ideas that were original in their time.  Terry Gilliam needs to get on this project stat!


***** out of *****


Watched on Netflix Watch Instantly
Photos from Six Martinis and the Seventh Art