The Ogre (1996 film)

The Ogre
File:The Ogre FilmPoster.jpeg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Volker Schlöndorff
Produced by	Gebhard Henke Ingrid Windisch
Screenplay by	Jean-Claude Carrière Volker Schlöndorff
Based on	The Erl-King by Michel Tournier
Starring	John Malkovich Gottfried John Marianne Sägebrecht Volker Spengler Heino Ferch Dieter Laser Agnès Soral Sasha Hanau Vernon Dobtcheff Simon McBurney Ilja Smoljanski Luc Florian Laurent Spielvogel Marc Duret Philippe Sturbelle Armin Mueller-Stahl
Music by	Michael Nyman
Cinematography	Bruno de Keyzer
Edited by	Nicolas Gaster Peter Przygodda
Production company	Canal+ France 2 Cinéma Héritage Films Recorded Picture Company (RPC) Renn Productions Studio Babelsberg Universum Film (UFA) Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)
Distributed by	AMLF (1996, France) Tobis Filmkunst (1996, Germany) Kino International (1998, USA, all media)
Release dates	12 September 1996 (1996-09-12)
Running time	118 min.
Country	France Germany United Kingdom
Language	English
Box office	$49,166 (USA)

The Ogre (German: Der Unhold) is a 1996 French-German drama film directed by Volker Schlöndorff and starring John Malkovich, Gottfried John, Marianne Sägebrecht, Volker Spengler, Heino Ferch, Dieter Laser and Armin Mueller-Stahl. It was written by Jean-Claude Carrière and Schlöndorff, based on the novel The Erl-King by Michel Tournier. The story follows a simple man who recruits children to be Nazis in the belief that he is protecting them.

Plot

Abel Tiffauges (Malkovich) is a simple Frenchman at the start of World War II, who loves animals and children. The first part of the film recalls his childhood at a Catholic school for boys, in where he wishes to Saint Christopher that the school, which he sees as a prison, is burned down. By irony of fate, while Abel is being disciplined for spilling lamp oil on the chapel floor, his friend Nestor accidentally sets fire to the building, burning it down as he wished. From that day on, Abel is convinced that fate is on his side, and that it will protect him from anything.

It is 1940 as Abel now narrates, and he is working as a car mechanic in Paris. His hobby is photography, in where he photographs the local children. But on one occasion where a girl named Martine takes his camera, he tells her off, upsetting her. She then accuses him of assaulting her, which although he did not at all, the police believe her, and he is put on trial. Fortunately for Abel, a war against Germany has broken out, and soldiers are urgently needed on the front. As a punishment for his uncommitted crime, he is sent to the army to fight off the invader.

However, it is not long before France surrenders, and Abel and his comrades are sent to a camp in East Prussia. Whilst not working, Abel goes down to the forest to a hunting cabin where he feeds a blind moose. One day, he encounters a German officer who is curious about his affinity for animals. Several weeks later, the officer returns to Abel, and removes him from the camp. He takes him to Hermann Göring's hunting lodge, where he now has a job looking after the animals on the estate. When Göring (Spengler) arrives, at first he seems cheerful and friendly, but it is soon realized that he is sadistic, bombastic and mentally unstable. After hearing news that he is needed in Berlin because of the failure on the Russian Front, he dismisses the whole company at the lodge, and so Abel loses his job. However, the officer allows him to have a job at the nearby Kaltenborn Castle, a military academy for boys.

At the castle, he instantly proves popular with the boys, and is treated by the staff as a privileged servant. One day, he is out riding, and he comes across a group of boys on holiday. He tells them of life in the castle and they follow him back. Impressed, the SS give him the job of recruiting local boys into the academy. Although he is successful, he soon learns from the castle housekeeper, Mrs. Netta, that the locals are afraid of him for taking the boys, and that they have published pamphlets telling parents to watch out for "The Ogre", his acquired nickname. Abel begins to develop doubts about his work. Several days later, a boy is left horribly burned during training from standing behind a firing rocket launcher, making Abel yet more resentful towards the Nazis. Soon after, the owner of the academy Count Kaltenborn (Mueller-Stahl), is revealed to have been part of a plot to kill Hitler, and is to be executed. Meanwhile, news has broken out that the Russian army has crossed the border, and the officers in charge of the castle, as well as the oldest boys training there, are sent out to the front line.

One night while out riding, Abel finds a column of prisoners being taken through the forest, and sees one being shot by a German soldier. When they have gone he approaches the road and finds that it is littered with dead bodies. In the mess he finds a boy named Ephraim, who is just about alive, and takes him to the castle, where he hides him in the attic. With all the officers dead, Abel is soon in charge of the castle, but having realized that defeat is inevitable, and that Hitler is not worth fighting or dying for, he orders the boys to evacuate. In their fervour they refuse and knock him unconscious as the Russians approach the castle, when shortly after a group of German veterans enter to take command.

That night, Abel regains consciousness and returns to the attic. The Russians soon arrive, and Abel tries to surrender the castle, but is nearly shot by a German who wants to fight. As the battle begins, Abel finds Ephraim and leaves the castle with him while it is burned down and the garrison is killed. They escape across the marshes safely, with Abel recalling the tale of St. Christopher, and the scene fades to black.

Production

Schlöndorff's idea to create the film originally stemmed from his want to create a sequel to his 1979 film The Tin Drum, since the film only covered part of the Günter Grass novel on which it was based, but the main cast member David Bennent had grown out of the role and Schlöndorff was unwilling to recast the role. Schlöndorff decided that Tournier's novel reflected his specific interest in the war in particular. Filming began in 1995 on location in Malbork and Paris, with Ezio Frigerio as production designer, who intentionally made the sets look as if they were from a fairytale. Michael Nyman wrote the soundtrack, three years after his huge international success with The Piano.

Reception

Although filmed in English, The Ogre was not initially released in the United Kingdom or the U.S. It subsequently had limited theatrical release in the U.S. in 1998-1999 and was made available on DVD by Kino International. It generally received positive reviews on its cinema release and DVD release, and currently holds an 89% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Music

The Ogre
File:Nymanogre.jpg design by Dave McKean
Soundtrack album by Michael Nyman
Released	1996
Genre	Soundtrack, Film score, Minimalist music, Contemporary classical
Length	59:03
Label	Virgin Venture
Director	Michael Nyman
Producer	Michael Nyman
Michael Nyman chronology
After Extra Time 2006 The Ogre 2006 Enemy Zero 2007

The score is composed by Michael Nyman and features strictly brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments by members of the Michael Nyman Band. The music was rerecorded by Wingates Band, with the woodwind parts transcribed for brass, on the 2006 album, Nyman Brass.

Track listing

1. Knights at School (6.58)
2. Child Bearer (5.26)
3. Abel's Fate (1.44)
4. Meeting the Moose (4.58)
5. Magic Forest (1.31)
6. Into the Woods (1.40)
7. Göering's Hunting Party (3.43)
8. Göering's Gotterdämmerung (2.49)
9. Masuria (2.03)
10. Abel's List (2.07)
11. Beware of the Ogre (4.01)
12. Death Marches (3.24)
13. Night Moves (1.23)
14. Abel's Revolt (5.34)
15. Abel Carries Ephraim (5.56)
16. End Titles (5.52)

Personnel

• John Harle, soprano/alto saxophones
• David Roach, soprano/alto/tenor saxophones
• Simon Haram, soprano/alto saxophones
• Andrew Findon, baritone saxophone/flute/piccolo
• Steve Sidwell, trumpet/piccolo trumpet/flugelhorn
• Nigel Gomm, trumpet/flugel
• Dave Lee, horn/Wagner tuba
• Nigel Black, horn, Wagner tuba
• Paul Gargham, horn, Wagner tuba
• Richard Clews, horn, Wagner tuba
• Chris Davies, horn, Wagner tuba
• Andrew Berryman, trombone
• Nigel Barr, bass trombone/tuba
• Gary Kettel, drums
• Michael Nyman, composer and director

• Published by Michael Nyman Productions Ltd./Chester Music Ltd.

• Music editor: Martin Elliott
• Produced by Michael Nyman
• Recorded at Landsdowne Studios
• Mixed at Landsdowne Studios
• Edited at Metropolis Studios
• Engineer Michael J. Dutton

• Artist representative for Michael Nyman: Nigel Barr
• Photographs of Michael Nyman by The Douglas Brothers
• Design and illustration by Dave McKean@Hourglass

External links

• The Ogre at IMDb