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7/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 7/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Die heilige Flamme remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
You should probably watch this if you have a soft spot for black and white tragedies where everyone looks like they haven't slept in a week. It’s a slow burn, for sure.
If you hate movies where people stand around in big rooms talking about their feelings in hushed tones, you will probably be bored to tears. But there is something about the way this one is put together that stuck with me after the screen went black.
The whole thing starts with a plane crash. Robert, played by Anton Pointner, is a pilot and he’s so happy to be getting married that he decides to fly over the party.
It’s a terrible idea. The plane looks like a tiny toy when it goes down, which made me chuckle even though it’s supposed to be horrific.
Robert survives, but he’s paralyzed. He spends the rest of the movie in a giant chair or a bed, looking out at a world he can't touch anymore.
It’s really claustrophobic. The camera stays inside most of the time, making you feel as trapped as he is. ✈️
His wife is played by Dita Parlo. She looks so young and tired in every single scene.
You can tell she wants to be a good person, but she’s suffocating. Then the brother, Gustav Fröhlich, shows up and things get uncomfortable fast.
Gustav Fröhlich was in The Dark Star too, but he feels different here. He’s got this guilty look on his face from the moment he walks into the room.
The movie doesn't hide that these two are falling for each other. It’s not even subtle.
There is a scene where they are standing on a balcony and the wind is blowing. They don't even have to say anything.
You just know. It’s the kind of drama that feels like a heavy blanket. ☁️
Salka Viertel plays the mother, and she is the best part of the whole film. She doesn't say much at first, but her eyes are constantly moving, watching everyone.
She knows her son is miserable. She knows her other son is in love with the wife.
It reminded me a bit of the tension in A Notorious Affair, where everyone is just waiting for the disaster to happen. Except here, the disaster is already sitting in the room in a wheelchair.
There is this one shot of her hand holding a bottle. It lingers for a few seconds too long.
It’s one of those moments where you realize exactly what is going to happen before the characters do. I like when movies trust you to figure it out without a big speech.
Vladimir Sokoloff is in this too. He has a very strange face that always looks like he’s about to tell a secret.
The movie is based on a play by Somerset Maugham. You can tell because it feels very theatrical.
People enter and exit rooms like they are on a stage. Sometimes it feels a bit stiff.
But then the death happens. It’s sudden, but also not.
The way the family reacts is what makes it interesting. It’s not a mystery about who did it, but why they did it.
It asks a really hard question: Is it love to let someone go when they are in pain? Or is it just a way to make your own life easier?
The movie doesn't really give you a clean answer. It just lets the characters sit in their choices.
I forgot to mention the music. Or maybe I didn't, because there isn't much of it that I can remember.
The silence is louder anyway. Especially in the scenes where Robert is trying to be cheerful while his legs are dead weight.
It’s a sad, dusty little film. It’s not perfect, and some of the acting feels a bit over the top now.
Like, there’s a lot of clutching at hearts and staring into the distance. But the core of it is still sharp.
If you’ve seen The She Wolf, you know how these older films can sometimes be surprisingly mean. This one isn't mean, but it is honest about how much people can hurt each other while trying to be kind.
I think I liked it more than I expected to. Even if that plane crash looked like it was filmed in a bathtub. 🛁
It’s worth a look if you can find it. Just don't expect a happy ending.
Actually, maybe it is a happy ending? Depends on how you look at Robert’s face in that last scene.
Anyway, it’s a solid bit of German cinema from a time when they weren't afraid to be bleak.
IMDb 5.8
1928
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