I found this movie very silly and really meant for a main audience of children. The character of the boy is ridiculous and I can see kids thinking that his idiotic actions are funny. Also there are a lot of visual gags like the hammers flying in the air or the king’s hut catching on fire. I rolled my eyes at most of them, but I could see myself laughing hysterically as a kid. The evil aspects of the film were also played down a lot. The devil was not mysteriously dark or scary but rather funny and simply portrayed as a glutton and children would not be afraid of him.
The whole idea of gluttony and overindulgence played a big role in this film and it reminded me of aspects of the DEFA Snow White. In Snow White you have the scene of the court eating disgustingly at the table, and they appear fat and lazy, somewhat like pigs. In The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs, the King is seen as a drunk and constantly abuses alcohol. Then the devil eats everything that is at the wedding feast. Clearly overindulgence and excess in food and liquor is looked down upon as it is associated with the villains of the film, the King and the Devil. Rather commoners, like Jacob and the “robbers” are the heroes of the story which ties into the political views of Eastern Germany.
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The devil definately is not mysteriously dark or scary in the DEFA film. But I wonder if the exclusion of the devil's mother is just as important as his personal portrayal of being a funny glutton. The inclusion of the mother in the Grimm's tale was a real change from my idea of "the devil." In the DEFA version the change to the "woman" character that is really played by Jacob is much more in line with modern thought. Do you think that too is an important change to the Devil character or is it less important?
ReplyDeleteI had never really thought about the idea of gluttony and overindulgence in these DEFA films, but I can definitely see where you are coming from. It puts to rest my theory of the confusing ending with the evil eating and drinking at the wedding. The overindulgent characters in the films are depicted as overweight, homely individuals, whereas the "good" characters are in good shape and are good looking.
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