Petzold's "Undine" To Be First In A Trio Of German Myths (& A Tour of Germanic Fairy Tale-Like Legends As Contenders for Films 2 & 3...)

During the conversation, the stranger had already occasionally heard a splash against the little low window, as if someone were sprinkling water against it. Every time the noise occurred, the old man knit how brow with displeasure; but at least when a whole shower was dashed against the panes, and bubbled into the room through the decayed casement, he rose angrily, and called threateningly from the window; "Undine; will you for once leave off these childish tricks? and to-day, besides, there is a stranger knight with us in the cottage." (Excerpt from Undine, Chapter 1: How the Knight Came to the Fisherman)

Production has just begun on a brand-new, mythic film trilogy, the first of which will be based on the fairy tale Undine, written by Friedrich de la Motte-Fouque. The story is well known in Germany and worldwide, largely thanks to Arthur Rackham's popular illustrations, and prima ballerina assoluta Margot Fonteyn's signature role as the titular Ondine with the Royal Ballet (with an 'O' instead of a 'U').

The director, Christian Petzold (of last year's acclaimed film Transit) has offered a few clues as to the direction he'll be taking:

"The next trilogy is about German myths. (The) first one (is) about Undine, a woman who comes in from the water, living in Berlin wanting to kill all the men. (And) yes, (it will be) very modern."

Petzold was interviewed recently, just after production started, and elaborated a little more on how the character of Undine will be portrayed. The article extract below includes information on the film's cast and crew for any who might be familiar with Petzold's work to date:

Director Christian Petzold has now embarked on his next film, the fairytale-inspired Undine, and it finds him reteaming with Transit stars Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski, Cineuropa reports. Also starring Jacob Matschenz and Maryam Zaree, see a synopsis below for the film that kicked off production last week. (Ed: Reported in July 2019)
Named after the water nymph that seduces men in a number of mythological tales, the German director’s new movie will portray Undine (Paula Beer) as a history graduate who works as a guide in Berlin in the present day. After her partner (Jacob Matschenz) leaves her for another woman, she is cursed and compelled to kill the man who betrayed her and return to the waters she was once summoned from. Yet unlike the mythological character, in the film, Undine tries to defy her fate. Immediately after the break-up, she meets Christoph (Franz Rogowski), an industrial diver, and falls in love with him. The two have a wonderful time together until he realises that she is running away from something and starts to feel betrayed.

So it will not have the fairy tale feel of Ondine, the 2010 romantic Irish-drama (with Colin Farrell and Alicja Bachleda), which was based on the same source. Ondine has few magical effects but very much taps into Wonder and has a very fairy tale feel. Petzold's Undine, however, will be worlds away from that and will be considering a very different aspect of the story.

Petzold is one of the few German film directors who consistently gets US distribution for his films. In an interview with The Film Experience, he was asked why he thought that might be. His answer is very interesting, both for German cinema and American:

"Americans need cinema like the Greeks needed theater. It’s where you learn about community and society. In Germany cinema had to be re-invented because Nazis infected it. So I learned from American cinema." 

We have to wonder, with his eye so firmly on the social and political dynamics of the world stage, particularly with regard to Germany and the US, what Petzold's commentary on current issues will be.  Clearly, he will be exploring the changing role - and perception - of women in his film Undine, but that's unlikely to be the only issue he'll be exploring.

In de la Motte-Fouque's original Undine, a strong contrast is drawn between the wild, (and soulless) Undine, who laughs inappropriately, is 'tricksy' and brazen (see excerpt at the beginning of the post for a taste), and her transformation to the woman she becomes (overnight) on getting married to a human and therefore gaining a soul. From then on, she is demure, quiet, modest and "well behaved". It is completely opposite to her essential nature, one which is surrounded by devilish spirits and creatures that accompany and pursue her, and frighten her knight and the priest that marries them. It is even implied in the Undine text at the beginning of the story, that the water nymph did away with (drowned) a couple's human child, in order to become the replacement foster child - a huge contrast to the meek and tragic figure she later becomes. (You can read the full book online HERE.) Petzold's Undine, rather than being mysterious and romantic, is set to start with quite a brazen edge too, and a very real threat, but also promises complexity as the story develops.

As for the other German myths that might be tapped for the trilogy, there are quite a few famous ones, and though we can't know how the director is considering tying the three films together, here are some possible subjects:

• The Pied Piper (not to be confused with the tragic Children's Crusade, another German legend)
• The Changeling (Or How To Protect Your Child - written by Jacob Grimm for German Mythology)
• The Hoofprint on the Rosstrappe, or Princess Brunhilde escaping the Giant Bodo (in which her stallion left a hoof print, still visible today, on Rosstrappe, in the Harz mountain range, as he leaped off a high cliff, carrying her to safety. This is from Legends and Tales of the Harz Mountains by Toofie Lauder 1881, but it can be seen that Germanic mythology has a lot of overlap with Norse mythology)
• The Morbach Monster (the location of the last werewolf kill in Germany, which has a shrine with an ever-burning candle, as legend has it that if the candle goes out, the monster will return)

The Lorelei legend (similar to a mermaid) is also one of the most popular German myths, but with Undine already being the basis of the first and sharing many of the motifs, it's unlikely Petzold will be using this one. There is a third water nymph legend that overlaps as well, loosely titled The King of Mummelsee (also known as the Singing Nymphs of the Black Forest), which takes place in the locale of the Black Forest (and a glacial lake) and includes mention of a monastery and nymphs-who-used-to-be-nuns; in some ways, a reversal of the Undine story. Other magical legends are based around Mummelsee (the lake) too, one in which a man in a rat fur coat, with an owl companion, takes a midwife with him to the lake, to help with the delivery of his baby. He paid her in straw, which turned to gold. Another legend says that deep down in the Mummelsee is a blue flower which can make someone invisible.

For the last of the major myth contenders, there is the notorious legend of the Watzmann mountain range, said to actually be a family of blood-thirsty people, who enjoyed hunting local peasants for sport, and were eventually cursed during a particularly cruel and bloody kill, and turned to stone, (each peak of the range a different family member) but it's a fairly simple story. There is a variant in which a little pocket-sized man helps the farmers defeat the wicked king and his family, and the community ends up stoning the entire awful family to death, using so many stones that the mountain range was created, but again it's a fairly straightforward tale. (An interesting local folkloric note: There is a tradition called "Kick the Royalty" in which, even today, locals encourage hikers to "kick the wicked royalty" with their shoes while "walking on their bodies".)

As one might imagine, The Black Forest has it's own unique set of legends (and fairy tales), many of which include a magical element; water nymphs, monks catching ghosts, a giant ditch-digging hen, disappearing night ladies, a headless horseman and a good witch who caused the local vineyards to produce the best wine in Europe. All of these legends are lesser-known, though, and unlikely to be a mythic source for the trilogy.

Veering slightly off the legend-as-complete-story' track, there are the popular legendary characters of German myth that could be considered as well. These include Godfather Death, Krampus (Santa's dark helper), the Erl King (German King of the Fairies), the Rübezahl (a trickster mountain spirit), Barbarossa (a famous king whose very long beard is linked with prophecy) and characters from The Nibelungenlied (knights, dwarves, and dragons).

Then there are many other collections of legends and folktales, beyond the Grimm brothers, any of which may also be in the running, as long as they have some popularity or legendary status in Germany. There are tales by Bechstein (whose work was apparently more popular in Germany than the contemporary Grimm's work, for about fifty years), Schönwerth's collected (and largely unedited) tales, and respected fairy tale scholar Jack Zipes also writes of many other German fairy and folktale collections, alerting us to many other tales and collections "more interesting" than Schönwerth's as well.

"...I can point to some brilliant German collections by Theodor Vernaleken, Johann Wilhelm Wolf, Ignaz and Joseph Zingerele, Heinrich Pröhle, Josef Haltrich, Christian Schneller, Karl Haupt, Hermann Knust, Carl and Theodor Colshorn, etc. "

There is certainly a wealth of possibilities for this new "mythic trilogy", but like Petzold's other trilogies, Undine is likely to be both a stand-alone film, and have a unique context within the trilogy, when it's complete. With Petzold's star shining so brightly at present, it's clear many critical eyes worldwide will be watching to see what he does.

For now, however, German fairy tales are front and center.

All illustrations in this post are by Frances Bassett Comstock.

Sources Referenced:

• Interview: Christian Petzold on 'Transit', melodramas and the influence of Fassbinder and Ackerman by Murtada Elfadl for The Film Experience
• Christian Petzold Begins Production on Fairytale-Inspired Film ‘Undine’ by Jordan Raup for The Film Stage 
• Full online text of Frederick La Motte-Fouque's "Undine"
• An Extraordinary New Find? Jack Zipes on the 500 New Fairy Tales by jwyg for the University of Chichester
• German Myths & Fairy Tales by Taylor Fisk Henning for the Illinois Library
• Myths, Legends & Folklore From Germany by Europe Diaries
• The Local List: German Myths & Legends by TheLocal.de
• Werewolf Legends from Germany - translated and edited by D. L. Ashliman University of Pittsburgh 
• The Nibelunglied - - translated and edited by D. L. Ashliman University of Pittsburgh 
• Undine 1911 English with illustrations by Frances Bassett Comstock - archive.org
• Various local articles on the Watzmann mountain range - including the Grosser Watzmann, the "Watzmann wife" and the seven "Watzmann children", located in Upper Bavaria
• German Changeling Legends  - translated and edited by D. L. Ashliman University of Pittsburgh 
• Barbarossa, the red-bearded hero, symbol of German unity by DW (Deutsche Welle) Culture
• Wikipedia entry for Rübezahl
• Legends of the Mummelsee in Germany's Black Forest by David Gutscher
• The Legend of the Rosstrappe from Uncommon Travel Germany, a transcribed tale from Legends and Tales of the Harz Mountains by Toofie Lauder in 1881
• The Pied Piper of Hameln (not a misspelling) and related legends of other towns - translated and edited by D. L. Ashliman University of Pittsburgh 
• Black Forest Legends by Websters
• The Erl King by Goethe - Encyclopedia Britannica.com

Benjamin Lacombe's Ondine

© Image Benjamin Lacombe. 
"Ondine" cover "Ondine" ed Albin Michel, 2012 
Gouache and oil on paper 43 x 75 cm Inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites, of course, Millais, Rossetti & Waterhouse

From what I can gather, amazing illustrator Benjamin Lacombe is hard at work on a book retelling the tale of Ondine (or Undine), another of my favorite tales (yes, I have many.)

While there's not much information on his blog beyond this, posted on December 31  last year...

The image of this Card is extracted from my upcoing book, to be published in spring in France by Albin Michel, Ondine (I'll talk about soon) ..

... his Faceboook has a small collection of stunning artwork from the book, with the most recent painting posted just this Thursday. I've included the various notes per image he wrote regarding titles, inspirations and a nice teaser for the last image posted here.

© Image Benjamin Lacombe 
"The Nightmare" 2012 
Gouache & Oil on paper 

Ondine (ed Albin Michel, 2012)

 According to his notes the book will simply be titled Ondine and it appears that he's doing both the writing and the illustrating (no confirmation available) . Although the chances of an English edition are slim, I can still hope. In the meantime, the French edition is definitely going on my wish list and Spring in France, which is the release is planned for, is very soon...

© Image Benjamin Lacombe 
Portrait of Ondine, 2012 
Gouache and oil on paper 43 x75cm 
Extracted from Ondine Ed Albin Michel

© Image Benjamin Lacombe. Extracted from "Ondine" ed Veil 
"Loss" 2012 
Gouache and oil on paper This image appears in a surprising way (and in 3 parts) in the book, you'll see!

Wouldn't it be amazing to see these paintings in person?

Frankly, I don't really care what languages the book is available in as long as I can get one. Gorgeous.

Dvořák's "Rusalka"

Lovely poster from Opera Lyon's 2001 Production of Dvořák's Rusalka

Note: There's LOTS of "linky goodness" in this post, especially good for those who love Russian tales like I do, so go explore and fill your fairy tale soul today. :)

Also: Stars like this: * indicate a corresponding additional note at the bottom of the page.

UPDATE/CORRECTION 12/28/11: Božena Němcová was Czech, not Russian. Thank you to Janu Banu who commented with the correction and Judika who emailed me as well. My sincere apologies! Being mistaken for English and other nationalities myself all the time, I'm embarrassed I rushed finishing my post without double checking - and correcting! - all my facts before going live. Thank you again Janu and Judika for reading and for caring enough to let me know and correct the post.  :)

There is a fairy tale opera scored by famous composer Czech Antonin Dvořák (in 1899) that has recently made a comeback in operatic circles and in February 2012, UBC (University of British Columbia) will be mounting their own beautifully lavish production.

From the UBC promotional copy:

In Dvořák’s version, Rusalka is a water sprite that dwells in a lake. Rusalka has fallen in love with a mortal, a Prince who comes to the forest to swim in the lake. Since she is invisible to the Prince, she desires to take on human form in order to leave the cool waters and live in the sunlight with him. Rusalka’s father, the wise ruler of the lake’s underwater realm, warns her against such a transformation. Despite her father’s warnings, she seeks out the witch, Jezibaba, to fulfill her wish. 

Renee Fleming during a performance of Rusalka by the NY Met

 Rusalka’s desperate longing to experience true love plunges her into an emotional storm heightened beautifully by majestic melodies, including the famously stunning aria, Song to the Moon. In the end, she must choose to make the ultimate sacrifice for love. Rusalka is not only Dvořák’s finest and most enduringly popular opera but also one of the most deeply moving operas of all.

 There is, however, a point of confusion here. The opera has been officially called "Rusalka: The Little Mermaid Story" and the apparent background for it (from the promotional copy) is this:

Rusalka is based on the original Slavic fairy tale of the Little Mermaid. The story was later adapted by Hans Christian Andersen and then by Walt Disney Studios into the 1989 film.

The problem here is that a rusalka is NOT a mermaid and should never be confused with one. There are similarities, such as rusalki (plural) are female water beings (or demons, since their agenda is usually seducing and drowning boys and men) which at first seem to have a lot in common with sirens, though they don't have fish/water animal tails.

Rusalki are actually a type of ghost (ie. they used to be human) and the water-version of willis (another Slavic fairy/spirit seen in the story Giselle, the popular ballet first performed in 1841****). Willis and rusalki are essentially both female ghosts looking for revenge specifically against the men who did them wrong in life, though any man is considered fair game. Rusalka are not completely malicious though. They can find peace and stop their haunting once justice (or revenge) is carried out on their behalf.

From an Australian production of Rusalka

Andersen's Little Mermaid story (first published in 1837), however, is a lot closer to Undine* (or Ondine), than the beings of slavic folklore.


I just looked up Heidi's research on Andersen's Little Mermaid at SurLaLune and she notes this:

While The Little Mermaid contains common fairy tale and folklore elements, especially those about mermaids, this fairy tale is the literary creation of Hans Christian Andersen. The tale has no direct oral predecessor in folklore. 

The closest percursor of the tale is Undine, a story by Friedrich de La Motte Fouque***. Andersen admits to his familiarity and consideration of Undine while writing his Little Mermaid. In many ways, his tale is a direct reaction to the earlier story.

You can read even more on the tale with annotations and many more goodies on The Little Mermaid at SurLaLune with this in mind - in fact, please do!

This gives me stronger footing to be skeptical of this opera's claim on Andersen as in all my reading on Hans Christian Andersen I'd never seen reference to him adapting a rusalka story into The Little Mermaid.

But that doesn't mean Rusalka (by Dvořák) isn't worth seeing/listening to. On the contrary! Wikipedia states this:

The Czech libretto (for Dvořák's "Rusalka") was written by the poet Jaroslav Kvapil^[1] (1868–1950) based on the fairy tales of Karel Jaromír Erben and Božena Němcová.

You can find a synopsis of the story the opera uses HERE and you can learn a little more about one of the fairy tale collectors, Božena Němcová, whose work the libretto was based on HERE. (This is something new to me: a female Russian Czech fairy tale writer and collator/collector from the early 1800's. I have to go find my Russian Slavic fairy tale books and see if her name is on any of them. Considering her list of published works, I'm betting "yes".)


See? Fairy tales and Russian tales and Slovak folklore and legends. :) There are a lot of other elements for fairy tale people to enjoy in this opera too - the story, the costumes and the beautiful score, which includes the famous aria "Song to the Moon". (The link takes you to YouTube where you can hear Sarah Brightman sing a beautiful Italian version of it "La Luna"- I suggest ignoring the visuals for the video though - just listen.)

Bavarian State Opera 2011 version of Rusalka

For a completely different variation on the theme how about this one presented at the Munich Opera Festival this past July, which features a girl in a fish tank? This version has been updated and interestingly twisted in the retelling, causing quite the stir. Rather than distract further from the current post I'll just let you find out for yourself if your interested. The link is HERE.

NY Met production of Rusalka

Dvořák's Rusalka is one of the more romantic stories I've seen involving a rusalka. Usually they're a little more blood thirsty and dark but the emphasis here is definitely more toward "girl from one world seeks to be with her love from another", rather like some selkies (though not all), swan maidens and, yes, little mermaids. 

Opera appears both recent and Russian - source HERE

I have a feeling that although there was some influence between writers and artists at the time, it doesn't seem to account for all the various being produced in different places. It's one of the reasons I've put in so many of the connected dates for various works - to see if you can "unriddle this riddle" a little yourself. Looking at the timeline is very interesting. Perhaps it's a case of "1800's fairy tale zeitgeist" specifically centered on tragic rusalka figures and other water beings such as mermaids. Considering what we're seeing happening in 2011 and 2012 in TV and movies (and even more specifically with Snow White), I wouldn't be at all surprised.

This is not an illustration. It's a "still frame capture" from the 1998 Oscar nominated animated short film "Rusalka", detailed below.

There is one other important related video I'd like to bring to your attention and that's the 1997 gorgeously done animation of Aleksandr Petrov using an incredible (and almost unbelievable!) technique of oil paints on glass for his separate images.  The story is based on a work by Alexander Pushkin from 1819 (it is thought - Pushkin wrote two different Rusalka poems**) and the title is simply "Русалка" or "Rusalka", though it's been mistranslated as "Mermaid" in many places and is completely mesmerizing. It's easy to see why this short had an Oscar nomination in 1998.

There is a wonderful and in-depth blog post HERE about Aleksandr Petrov's film and about rusalki which I highly recommend. It includes Pushkin's poem and explains things in a very easy-to-read manner.


Performances of the UBC production Rusalka begin on February 9th, 2012 at the Chan Center for Performing Arts in Vancouver. You can find more information about it and the artists involved HERE.

*Which was beautifully illustrated by Sir Arthur Rackham. Some of my favorite fairy tale illustrations of all time are Rackham's Undine drawings. Today's bonus: a video of Rackham's Undine drawings, including the cover of the book. Enjoy.

** Pushkin's second but unfinished poem bears a strong resemblance to the opera which is the subject of today's post.

*** Undine, a story by Friedrich de La Motte Fouque is from 1811.

**** The ballet Giselle debuted in 1841 and was based on at least two other works: De l'Allemagne by Heine, written in 1833 and Victor Hugo's Orientales published in 1829).

The Serious Whimsy Of Beatrice Billard

 

Many of these works are a few years old now but the beautiful layering of the mysterious and the slight edge to these whimsical fairy tale paintings by Beatrice Billard never gets old.

Her portfolio included title and description so I thought those the best images to include. Her portfolio and blog have many many more beautiful and fantastic pieces so be sure to go check her out.

Endicott Studio did a short post on her in 2007 which gives us a little more information than is on her website. Check it out to see her artistic influences - you'll find yourself recognizing their influences but also marvel at how she's still made the art very much her own.

Many of these would be lovely as prints for a stairway or perhaps as a frieze for a little girl's room. Either way I'd love to find a set of cards with these tales so I could own a quality set of prints.

Although she has some work for sale in various places I haven't found any recent online activity by her for a couple of years. Hopefully that just means she's hard at work producing more beautiful pieces.

Irish Fairy Tale Film "Ondine" Coming Soon - 1st Trailer

It won't be here in time for Valentine's Day but there's a fairy tale romantic movie coming our way.

The new film, "Ondine", (coming to theaters possibly as early as June this year), stars Colin Farrell and is directed by veteran director Neil Jordan. The movie's story has much in common with both "The Little Mermaid" & water nymph fairy tales as well as the ballet (which is based on the fairy tale novel "Undine" by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, which in turn was based on various folktales). You can read more about Motte Fouqué's story HERE, the plot of which is now usually considered a fairy tale in its own right.
From FirstShowing.net:

Written and directed by Neil Jordan (of The Crying Game, Interview with the Vampire, The Brave One), Ondine is a lyrical modern fairy tale that tells the story of Syracuse (Colin Farrell), an Irish fisherman whose life is transformed when he catches a beautiful and mysterious woman (Alicja Bachleda) in his nets. His daughter Annie comes to believe that the woman is a magical creature, while Syracuse falls helplessly in love. However, like all fairy tales, enchantment and darkness go hand in hand. A story of love, hope and the unwavering belief in the impossible. Magnolia is distributing in the US but hasn't set a release date yet.

Here's a little more about the movie (and the making of it) from TheStar.com's interview with director Neil Jordan:

The importance of imagination and the challenges of creating a fairy tale in a less than magical environment were the main themes of an afternoon press conversation for the film Ondine.

The movie, directed by Neil Jordan and starring Colin Farrell, is about an Irish fisherman who finds a young woman in his net who he believes is a mermaid.

"I went back to Ireland and just had this image of a fisherman who had caught a girl in his net and it was a very captivating image," said Jordan.

He added, "People need a sense of fantasy in their lives to be able to live."

Jordan said he wanted to make the film reflect the "reality," of working life for many people in Ireland, but still create a sense of magic.

"The fairy tale romps into peoples lives, but turns out to be based incredibly in reality," he said. "In a strange way, reality is its own fairy tale."

Here's some notes on writing the screenplay from Jordan via FlicksNews:

During the Writer's Strike a Hollywood project fell through - Heart Shaped Box. I went back to Ireland where I have a house in West Cork and wrote this fairy tale, which could shoot entirely within a radius of five miles from where I live. About a fisherman, who pulled up a living girl in his net. His disabled daughter, who invented stories about her. These stories feed on local legends - sea creatures, seal creatures, selkies. How they only have a certain time on land. How they fall in love with their rescuer. How they can make a wish come true. How the sea always calls them back.

Much of what the girl invents turns out to be true, but never in ways she expected. The whole thing develops into an impossibly romantic love story, in which real human beings insist on turning their lives into a fairy tale. Because reality is too hard, maybe. Because that is what we love to do, have to do, maybe…

Not just fairy-tale based but described as 'a fairy tale', it appears to be a story of the older, folktale type, rather than the pop-culture type and a well layered, romantic story. (Yay!)

The fairy tale of Ondine has mainly been kept in people's memory by two treatments:

1) Arthur Rackham's incredibly gorgeous illustrations of the fairy tale (see some of them below)

2) The ballet "Ondine", made even more popular by the legendary British prima ballerina assoluta Margot Fonteyn for whom it was a signature role (even when she was dancing in her 60's - see a couple of pics below).

You can also see some gorgeous images from the underwater photo shoot for a recent production by The Royal Ballet in one of my previous posts HERE.

A lesser known Broadway production also helped the story stay in the popular consciousness though - especially when Audrey Hepburn played the role of the water nymph, Ondine. Here are some promotional photos taken for the production:

The movie sounds very promising and is getting positive reviews, having been shown on the Indie film circuit. Word is, even if you're not a Colin Farrell fan, it's worth a look. It's attracting critical attention and has already garnered multiple nominations for the seventh IFTA's (Irish Film & Television Awards).

Here's the first trailer (it should be noted that the film does NOT turn into a thriller or horror as the trailer seems to imply- the film is primarily a romance and a study in hope, with a good dose of mystery):

I'm definitely looking forward to this film.