"Die
Goldene Stadt"
Order DVD-126
We see beautiful country scenes in Germany, and beautiful blue eyed, blonde Anna
is picking flowers. She goes for a buggy ride with a man in his early
thirties and it is obvious that she has eyes for him. She is driving the
buggy at a gallop and the man is a bit uneasy as they fly through the
countryside at a gallop. Later, they walk through the meadows and make
eyes at each other.
They soon come racing into the farmyard, Anna again driving the horse, and a
young man is watching with a sad face. It is obvious that he is in love
with Anna, but she has eyes for this older man. Her father and the man are
in a heated conversation and the father tells him to leave. He and Anna
are sad, but he goes. Later she angrily confronts her father who shouts at
her and slaps her in the face.
At the local festivities, Anna is the only girl riding in the horse race and she
is out front when her horse makes an error and the entire field passes
her. Soon she is seen flying past them, one after another until only one
horse and rider are in front. It is her middle aged love. He wins
and they laugh and joke after the race, until father arrives.
In the evening, there is a huge celebration in the local gasthaus with
traditional dress, music, dancing, food and beer but Anna is sad. She fantasizes
about her Golden City of Prague, 'Die Goldene Stadt'.
Anna leaves the country and farm life, and travels by train to the big city
where she is taken in by a friend of the family, a plump woman who smokes and
drinks too much. Anna works in her store but experiences the big city life
of fine dining, theater, carriage rides and more.
By sheer coincidence, she bumps into the older man whom she loved. He is
in the city on business - and Anna spots a wedding ring on his finger. She
is shattered, and soon takes up with an unemployed waiter named Tony. They
end up in bed, and soon Tony moves in to her tiny apartment over the shop where
she works.
Anna's father and the young farmhand who secretly loved her come for a surprise
visit to the city. They see that she is living with Tony, they see how she
has changed, and they are terribly saddened. They go home in deep despair.
Soon Anna learns that Tony is not only wasting his time playing cards, smoking
and drinking with his buddies rather than looking for work, but he is also
cheating on her with a former girlfriend. She leaves the big city in
bitter disappointment and returns to the country. Unexpected, she enters
her father's house as a big party is going on. All the townspeople are
there. There is stunned silence as she walks in, then her father quietly
goes back to eating his food without a further look at Anna. The guests
painfully follow his lead and go back to their soup. Tearfully, she bolts
into the night. After a few minutes, the townspeople dash out the door and
begin to scour the countryside with flaming torches, hoping to find Anna before
it is too late. Her father finally gets up from the now empty table and
joins the search himself.
It is her father who finally finds Anna, crying at the grave of her
mother. How does the film end? How would you expect a melodrama of
the era to end?
This DVD gives a great look at
traditional German life in simpler times.
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