Der Rabe (1951) by Kurt Steinwendner - Review

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by Kurt Steinwendner

grade: 8.5

Today, Austrian avant-garde cinema is extremely prolific and full of interesting ideas. Yet few people know that it was officially born after the end of World War II and, specifically, in 1951, the year in which artist, painter and photographer Kurt Steinwendner made his *Der Rabe**, a highly experimental film transposition of the famous poem* The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe.

The Crow Comes Last

Although Austrian avant-garde cinema is one of the most prolific and interesting in Europe today, few people know that it was officially born after the end of the Second World War and specifically in 1951, when artist, painter and photographer Kurt Steinwendner (officially known as Curt Stenvert since 1969) made his Der Rabe (The Raven), a highly experimental film adaptation of the famous poem The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe.

And although the famous Austrian artist has always shown great interest in artistic currents from all over the world (his paintings with an evident cubist imprint are particularly noteworthy in this regard), in this first film project, the influences of Surrealism are clear. In realising this interesting transposition of Poe’s poem, the mise-en-scène adopted is very reminiscent of Jean Cocteau’s poetics, but, at the same time, it reveals an entirely personal touch with a strong personality.

Respecting Poe’s original text, Der Rabe – which is set in a single location – shows us a man sitting at a desk (played by Leopold Rudolf) dealing with his past ghosts. Specifically, the man is tormented by the passing of the woman he loved (Leonore, a name that keeps coming back to his mind). Suddenly, he hears a knock on his window. It’s a strange ticking sound. He opens the window and a raven enters, repeating to him: ‘Nimmermehr!’ (‘Never again’).

Der Rabe, therefore, fully expresses that sense of growing anguish that characterises Poe’s original text, as well as the deep sense of guilt typical of the poetics of the American author – even though, in this case, unlike most of his previous works, the protagonist is not at fault for the disappearance of his beloved. Steinwendner, therefore, in order successfully convey all this, has drawn heavily from what had been made in the past, also showing strong and clear influences from German Expressionism (which, despite the geographical proximity, is much less common in Austria than one might initially believe).

Here we go, then, with sophisticated plays of light and shadow, sun rays filtering through a closed shutter, statues casting their dark shadows on the wall, images appearing on the screen as if they were filtered through a water surface, apparently lifeless women’s hands – looking almost like mannequins – furtively touching the arm of the protagonist and, finally, him: the raven. The raven that comes fluttering through the room and goes to perch on the head of the statue of Minerva. The raven that always repeats that cold, cruel and merciless word. And, close to him, a desperate protagonist who does nothing but question him about the possibility of meeting his beloved again, only to always get the same, short answer.

Der Rabe by Kurt Steinwendner is all of this: a work that, in terms of personality, has nothing to envy to Poe’s original work, but which suddenly becomes its natural complement, due to a direction that – although following the poem’s text step by step – is never didactic, nor does it ever seem to “dub” the images.

This attempt – which was also realised thanks to the collaboration of psychologist, writer and photographer Wolfgang Kudrnofsky – represents a true milestone in Austrian cinema today, having given rise to the prolific avant-garde current that still today boasts numerous exponents also working in various other artistic fields. A current that, although, unfortunately, still unknown to most, is a true feather in the cap of Austrian cinema.