Das weite Land (Unknown Country)

Countries: Germany / Austria / Italy
Year: 1987
Theatrical adaption based on a play by Arthur Schnitzler
Length: 103 minutes

Production: Taurus Film (Germany) / Satel Film Vienna

Director: Luc Bondy
Cinematography: Thomas Mauch
Production Design: Ina Peichl
Art Director: Fritz Hollergschwandtner, Georg Schromm
Costumes: Beatrice Stein-Lepert, Birgit Hutter
starring Michell Piccoli, Bulle Ogier, Paulus Manker, Jutta Lampe, and others.

”Das weite Land” is one of Luc Bondy’s rare ventures into cinema. Bondy created a sensitive social study of Arthur Schnitzler’s play about a love triangle in 1890s Viennese high society, demonstrating the effects of upper class codes of behavior on human relationships. Botho Strauß co-authored the screenplay. The film’s cinematography and set direction provide a precise impression of life at the fin du siécle. In 1988, Peichl received the German Film Award (Deutscher Filmpreis in Gold) for her work on the film. She worked with Luc Bondy on several theater productions throughout the 1980s.

Photos: Anna Blau