Holiday Family Screening
RSVP VIA WENDE MUSEUM
GDR, DEFA-Studio für Spielfilme, 1957, 72 min., German with English subtitles. Directed by Francesco Stefani Screenplay: Francesco Stefani after the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm Starring: Christel Bodenstein, Eckart Dux, Charles-Hans Vogt, Richard Krüger
Based on a Grimms' fairytale fragment, The Singing, Ringing Tree became a landmark in European children's filmmaking, where, aside from Germany, it was particularly beloved in Great Britain in the 1960s.
In order to win the hand of the beautiful, but selfish Princess Tausendschön, a brave and handsome prince must find the singing, ringing tree and present it to her. The gnome-like ruler of the realm of magic offers to give the prince the precious tree; but the prince cannot have it until he fulfills one condition: the princess must fall in love with him before the sun sets, otherwise the prince will be turned into a bear. Unfortunately, Princess Tausendschön remains cold-hearted, and the prince is must accept his fate.
The bear/prince abducts the princess from the castle and takes her to the enchanted garden. At first, the animals of the garden are frightened, as the princess has been unkind to them in the past. As luck would have it, the gnome casts a spell on the princess, depriving her of her beauty and power. As she slowly changes for the better, she grows fond of the kindly bear. When she learns of the gnome’s scheme, Princess Tausendschön sets off to rescue the prince with the help of her new friends, the animals...
Presented in cooperation with The Wende Museum and the DEFA Film Library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
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