Baden verboten (1907)

Director:

Johann Schwarzer

Release Date:

1907 (Austria)

Genre:

Short

Runtime:

2 min (18 fps)

Country:

Austria

Color:

Black and White

Company:

Saturn-Film

water purity

This is an interesting film. Another one produced by an Austrian company, called Saturn, and directed by Johann Schwarzer.

Here we have a number of interesting elements which notice several times in these little films "europafilmtreasures" is allowing me to watch:

-women are always purely erotic but also purely unaware (apparently) of the effect they make. They are Eve before the apple. That happens here, women explore the joy of nudity, and play with each other. That's the set, a lake, trees, and women as part of nature;

-man is a designated watcher, here he invents and performs with the woman the game which is the theme: the sand bath. Curiously, as it happens often in these films, the man also ends the innocent game, and gives the women awareness of what they thought was innocent; here that is shown with them picking their clothes and moving away from the man who, being pudic, is at the same time chasing them;

This film has a particularly interesting aspect: water. Cinema was still technically primitive, but the photography work is great here, in how it uses reflections in the water, and the circular movement of that water. The single frame of the film is highly cinematic, and i think water is the key element to that.

My opinion: 4/5 interesting film

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