Gliders and Ego: Watching 'Rivalen der Luft'

Is it worth the watch?

Honestly, only if you have a weird itch for 1930s aviation history or really, really love the sound of wind rushing past a fabric-covered wing. If you’re looking for a tight, modern thriller like The Raid, you’re going to be bored to tears within ten minutes. But, if you like watching people get obsessed with things that probably shouldn't fly, stick around.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Rivalen der Luft - Ein Segelfliegerfilm (1934) through its definitive frames.

It’s very much a product of its time. The acting is loud. The men spend a lot of time staring into the distance looking determined. It’s a bit like watching Power, but with more clouds and significantly fewer political machinations.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Rivalen der Luft - Ein Segelfliegerfilm (1934) through its definitive frames.

The vibe

There’s this one sequence where a glider just circles for what feels like a lifetime. It’s hypnotic, but also kind of exhausting. The movie really wants you to feel the danger, but because it’s 1934, the stakes feel more like a friendly bet between gentlemen than life or death.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Rivalen der Luft - Ein Segelfliegerfilm (1934) through its definitive frames.

Sybille Schmitz is in this, which is always a treat, even when she’s given very little to actually do. She’s mostly there to look concerned while the men talk about wind currents and thermal drafts. It’s a shame, really.

• The sound design is basically just 'whoosh'.
• The hats are fantastic. Everyone has a very specific hat for flying.
• I’m pretty sure one of the pilots is just standing on the wing for the sake of the camera angle.

There’s a strange energy to the rivalry scenes. It’s not quite as sharp as the tension in Modärna fruar. It feels more like two guys trying to out-do each other at a backyard barbecue, if that barbecue happened to be at 5,000 feet.

The pacing is… well, let’s call it leisurely. It stops to admire its own shots of the sky constantly. Sometimes it works. Sometimes I found myself checking my phone to see how much runtime was left. It lacks the punchy, grounded reality of something like Grain, but it has a certain honest, dusty charm.

Ultimately—wait, I promised myself I wouldn't use that word. The movie just sort of ends. It doesn't build to a massive explosion or a grand realization. It just lands the plane. Which, in a way, is kind of refreshing. ✈️