The Niklashausen Journey (TV 1970)
"Die Niklashauser Fart" (original title)

Can a small group of people start a proletarian revolution, asks the "Black Monk" in a leather jacket. The medieval shepherd, Hans Boehm, claims to have been called by the Virgin Mary to ... See full summary »

Directors:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Michael Fengler

Writers:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Michael Fengler

Stars:

Michael König, Hanna Schygulla, Margit Carstensen

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael König	...	Hans Boehm
Hanna Schygulla	...	Johanna
Margit Carstensen	...	Magarethe
Michael Gordon	...	Antonio
Günther Kaufmann	...	Leader of the farmers
Kurt Raab	...	Bishop
Franz Maron	...	Magarethe's husband
Walter Sedlmayr	...	Pastor
Karl Scheydt	...	Niklashausen citizen
Guenther Rupp	...	Bishop's advisor (as Günther Rupp)
Ingrid Caven	...	Screaming girl
Elga Sorbas	...	Helpless girl
Carla Egerer	...	Epileptic girl (as Carla Aulaulu)
Magdalena Montezuma	...	Penthesilea
Sigi Graue	...	Farmer

Storyline

Can a small group of people start a proletarian revolution, asks the "Black Monk" in a leather jacket. The medieval shepherd, Hans Boehm, claims to have been called by the Virgin Mary to create a revolt against the church and the landowners. The "Black Monk" suggests that he would have more success if he dressed up Johanna and had her appear as the Virgin Mary.

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Plot Keywords:

black monk | virgin mary | monk | landowner | shepherd | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

26 October 1970 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

A Viagem a Niklashauer

Filming Locations:

Feldkirchen, Carinthia, Austria

Box Office

Budget:

DEM 550,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Janus Film und Fernsehen, Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Untitled Jam"
Written by Amon Düül II
Performed by Amon Düül II

User Reviews

Fassbinderian brilliance, way ahead of its time (for him).

One of Fassbinder's first films, 'The Niklashausen Journey' might be the most explicitly political the filmmaker would ever get. Once again - as with all his earlier work that I've seen - Godard's influence is palpable, particularly the messy mythologizing he applied to revolutionaries in 'Weekend' (although from what I've read about Straub-Huillet and other first generation of filmmakers from the New German Cinema, the influences extend much farther beyond that). 'Niklashausen' is a scathing critique of both political radicals and the society that produces them. Unlike Godard, Fassbinder makes this a very specific society, a very German society. The movie draws very clear parallels between religion and revolution, questions both the means and ends of revolutionary violence, suggests similarities between this uprising and the one led by Hitler several decades earlier - and it completely dismisses the ruling class as worthless, absurd fools quick to devastation when their enemies are involved. It works on the viewer in unexpected ways, building on our empathy with the revolutionary cause, while nearly condemning the whole movement, to make us truly care about enacting change - it is not as depressingly claustrophobic as the summary would have you believe. Without the usual melodrama to carry the film along, it does feel like an emotionally distant version of Fassbinder's later films like 'In A Year of 13 Moons' or 'Querelle.' It is difficult to deny that the film is formally and structurally brilliant, however, and of immediate interest to anyone who wants to see yet another side of a genius manifesting itself for the first time, in one of his more fascinating experiments.