Cologne (1939)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Genre:

Short | Documentary

Plot:

Structures, people and events are documented in Cologne, Minnesota, USA in 1939.

Plot Keywords:

Minnesota | Mill | Diary | Farming | Flour

Awards:

1 win

Cast

'Old Man' Guettler	...	Himself - a Mill Owner
Hans Guettler	...	Himself - a Mill Owner
Bill Guettler	...	Himself - a Mill Owner

Also Known As:

Cologne: From the Diary of Ray and Esther (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

14 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Cologne, Minnesota, USA

Trivia:

One of the 50 films in the 4-disk boxed DVD set called "Treasures from American Film Archives (2000)", compiled by the National Film Preservation Foundation from 18 American film archives. This film was preserved by the Minnesota Historical Society.

Simple, Pleasant Americana, Made With Some Skill

For an amateur movie from the 1930s, this is made with some real skill, and aside from a few tip-offs such as some unpolished inter-titles, it might easily have been made by more experienced film-makers. The content itself is the kind of simple but pleasant Americana that is easy to watch as long as it does not go on too long, and at less than 15 minutes, it's able to hold your attention all the way through.

Created by a doctor and his wife who spent a couple of years in the town of Cologne, Minnesota, it gives an honest yet caring perspective on the type of farming community that must have been (and probably still is) very common in their part of the country. Much of it shows the kinds of scenes you would expect, showing activity at farms, the local feed mill, the blacksmith shop, and the like. It's not without a little humor, as in the brief comment about and shot of the town's significance as a railway stop.

It's edited together quite smoothly, and features a good assortment of camera angles. Although the diary narrative device was already an old one at the time, it is pretty well suited to the material. It's easy to watch, and it's somewhat more interesting than you would expect such a movie to be.