Tierra baja

The troubles that beset this final feature of Leni Riefenstahl, from its conception in 1934 to its eventual release twenty years later have been well-documented and one critic has suggested that reading about it is far more interesting that watching it. The film's reputation has been overshadowed of course by the knowledge that the Romany gypsies she cast as extras were destined to perish in Auschwitz. Despite her lifelong assertions that she knew nothing of their fate the stigma remained, which is hardly surprising as she was renowned for her 'selective' memory and for being economic with the actualité.

Thanks to her documentaries 'Triumph of the Will' and 'Olympia' she is the director with the highest profile of her contemporaries and consequently the biggest target. In fact the average film-goer would probably struggle to name any other German director of the same period.

'Tiefland' was shown out of competition at Cannes in 1954 and the critical response was mainly negative, especially in relation to her being too old to play Martha the Spanish dancer who fills with fire the veins of Don Sebastian and captivates the heart of a considerably younger Pedro the shepherd. Riefenstahl herself admitted that she was miscast but claimed that she could find no actress suitable for the role. Franz Eichberger as Pedro is rather one-dimensional but then most 'goodies' are. 'The baddies' are invariably more interesting and Bernhard Minetti is wonderfully wicked as Don Sebastian. By far the most interesting performance is that Maria Koppenhoefer as Dona Amelia. An absolutely fascinating artiste who was fated to die six years before the film came out.

Even her staunchest critic could not deny the visual magnificence of this piece. After all Riefenstahl had learnt her craft from Arnold Fanck and G. W. Pabst. By all accounts both of these as well as Veit Harlan 'assisted' with the direction. Just what this assistance amounted to over the film's protracted shooting schedule is impossible to determine. As well as her sense of the visual and of composition and lighting, evident here is Riefenstahl's mastery of editing which was second to none. The piece is aided immeasurably by the score of her preferred composer Herbert Windt and in its use of themes from Eugen d'Albert's original opera. Whatever its weaknesses the film remains both intriguing and mesmerising.

Although Time is a great healer it is unlikely that the controversy surrounding this director will ever go away. Indeed why should it? She may not have been a jackpot of admirable character traits but as her obituaries in 2003 pointed out, her position as a great film technician is beyond dispute.