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Cult Review
Senior Film Conservator
Honestly? Only if you are the kind of person who enjoys the sound of a crackling fire or the hiss of a very old vinyl record. 📻
If you need fast edits and CGI, you will probably hate this with a passion.
But if you like seeing how movies were made when sound was still a brand-new, terrifying toy, then yeah, give it a go. It's a curiosity.
Watching Das Lied der Nationen feels like sitting in a drafty attic looking at old photos of people you don't know.
The sound is scratchy and there is this constant hiss in the background that never quite goes away. It makes the whole movie feel like it's being whispered from a long way off.
The acting is... well, it's very stagey. Everyone stands very still, probably because they were terrified of moving too far away from the hidden microphones.
It has that early talkie stiffness that you see in stuff like The Pagan God, where everyone is just waiting for their turn to speak.
There is this one scene with a piano where the music doesn't quite match the fingers of the guy playing. 🎹
It’s a small thing, but once you notice it, it’s all you can see. It becomes almost hypnotic in a bad way.
Camilla Horn is the main reason to watch this, I think. She has this face that was built for silent movies, very expressive and large eyes.
Even when she’s just standing there, she feels more alive than the guys in the suits. Those guys look like they were carved out of wood and then told to act like diplomats.
The whole "nations" theme is very idealistic, which is kind of sad when you realize this was made in 1931 Germany. You know what's coming next in history, and it makes the movie's message about harmony feel very fragile.
The pacing is all over the place. Sometimes it feels like a scene is going to end, and then it just... doesn't. ⏳
There is a lot of standing around. A lot of people looking at papers. Some of the dialogue scenes feel longer than a trip to the dentist.
But then, out of nowhere, there’s a shot of a crowded room or a musical bit that actually feels quite grand.
It’s not as emotionally heavy as Joan of Arc, but it tries to have a big heart. It just gets stuck in its own clunky mechanics alot.
I noticed a guy in the background of one scene who just keeps adjusting his hat. Over and over. I think he was nervous about being on camera.
The costumes are actually pretty sharp. Everyone looks very crisp, even if the film quality is grainy as hell.
It reminds me a little bit of The Seventh Sin in how it tries to be a big drama but ends up feeling a bit smaller because of the technology of the time.
Is it a masterpiece? No way. Is it interesting? Yeah, if you’re a nerd for this stuff.
I found myself zoning out during the long speeches about international friendship. But then the music would start and I'd be back in it. 🎶
It's a movie that really really wants you to believe that a song can save the world. It’s a nice thought, even if the movie is too creaky to pull it off perfectly.
If you're bored, maybe check out Full of Pep instead for something lighter. This one is for the historians.
One last thing—the ending feels very abrupt. Like they ran out of film or the director just decided he was tired and wanted to go home. It just... stops.
IMDb 6
1918
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